Ever go into a music store and take a CD? Not pay for it? Ever go into a grocery store, eat an apple, and never pay for it? Ever go into a Department store, take some socks, and not pay for them? Ever go to a friend's house and take their possessions without telling them or paying for them? These acts are theft, correct?
What is the difference then of torrenting a CD of music, or a movie, or a game?
Would you like it if someone stole your stuff? Would you be pissed?
It is that simple.
The difference? Huge. When you go to a grocery store is their a worm hole containing INFINITE apples? Probably not.
(Software online is infinite and can be downloaded 1 time, or 1 billion times and cost the author the same amount)
The point is that everyone seems to forget is the fact that most people who honestly pirate software, games and music are people who are either to poor or to uninterested with the product to ever warrant paying for it. Of course company's may see this as loss but since these people never intended to buy the product regardless they have not lost anything but infact study's show they have GAINED something.
In fact the fact that people pirate actually gets the word of the software's product out faster. Some people might think PIFF this looks terrible and then they torrent it and think damn not bad and tell others.
So by torrenting the product gets more popular.
The fact just is. 90% of the time if someone is torrenting it. If it wasn't on a torrent site they would just never have it and thus it is not a loss.
Now does that make it morally correct? Probably not. But is it a reason for a company to bitch and whine about lost sales? No.
But they do need to keep the scare factor in to make things stay in control and that's exactly what they do.
Control it. And it works just fine.