Alot of folks have died, and continue to, for the freedoms we now enjoy.
No-one died so that people could continue to steal other's property.
Get a grip...or get another forum.
People die to protect FREEDOM...and there IS NO freedom to take what is NOT yours.
Not without penalty.
This bullshit about comparing snotty-nosed brats stealing Intellectual Property with people fighting for civil rights or something is just that.
Utter ridiculous BULLSHIT.
This forum, whether it be accessed on Joe User...or Wincustomize...or any of the Gaming sites is owned by Stardock, a company whose IP is habitually stolen by these same self-righteous dickheads claiming everything must be free.
They steal the life-blood of the very forum on which they spout their tripe.
When a company's IP is sufficiently underminded [pirated] that their viability is jeopardized....guess what?
The company goes under....but before that...the Forum/s will be gone.
It's one thing to hold an idealist opinion....fuck...even I grew up as a hippy in the 70's...got into Architecture to change the world...smoked a lot of dope...dreamed of Utopia.
Yes, go for it...dream.
Then come back to reality and pretend common sense isn't that uncommon after all.
Whom-ever owns the IP is entitled to keep and protect that IP. Anyone who attempts to TAKE that IP without that owner's consent needs his nostrils slit and his gonads removed [if he has any].
Many of us here...on this site...using this forum....create and upload/distribute IP. All of us at one time or another have had that same IP stolen and/or abused by others.
Many of us spend a good amount of time actively protecting IP...our own and other artists.
THAT is the reality.
Ok wall of text incoming....
All of what you say is 100% correct, no 1000% correct.
As far as rules and laws goes, anyone creating unauthorized digital copies of IP is an outlaw, he should go to a court of law and should be found guilty of violating IP laws. That's the reality and I agree with you.
However no one, including you, would like to live in a world where everything is monitored and watched: a camera in every street, Internet watch dogs, trusted computing modules in all PCs and devices, firewalls, mass TCP/IP logging, a police officer in every corner, monitoring of cellphones, monitoring of calls etc, it's too much, it's becoming a fascist state/world.It indeed is a safer world, but not a FREE one, not as in free beer mind you, but as a normal person walking in the street and feeling free.
And to say that all of these extreme measures that already exist or are planned to come into existence, are justified because of someone's, no, anyone's IP, is just plain stupid.
What is missing from the existing equation is trust. The reason why I buy IP from stardock is because I trust you. And it shows that you worked hard to create that trust. You don't treat your customers like criminals or get in their ways of using what they buy and this is extremely important. It's very simple, I believe that you deserve the money that you demand for your products.
Laws and legislations should exist to promote the welfare of the society and the individual, this includes your IP rights but only to a certain extent and not exclusively.
Sure, there IS NO freedom to take what is NOT yours, but HOW and WHY did YOU get the RIGHT and FREEDOM to monitor and search my computer, my internet connection, my cellphone? Does ENFORCING just what you want justifies BREAKING into MY HOUSE, watching my street, and what I do every moment?
HOW: By lobbying all over the world, bribing politicians with money and power. Check how underhandedly they are trying to pass ACTA, they don't even want the people or the parliament/congress to vote about it and they are keeping it a secret from the public, hell it's not even a law its a trade agreement that becomes a law. LOL?
WHY: To become even more stinking rich. They don't care about you (stardock) or me, or the average joe, or the cultural significance of their work or creativity (which was the reason copyright was introduced) and they are definitely not struggling to survive. Hell you don't even have a saying as a company about how your RIGHTS will be protected cause you're a smallish fish 
This is about people with billions of dollars wanting out of GREED, to grab even more billions of dollars out of the average Joe. You are right protecting stardock's IP in your forums, but it is also futile since there are a hundred CURRENTLY LEGAL ways (as it should!) for others to get your IP.
RIGHT and FREEDOM: These people don't recognize any of these things this is just their excuse. They think that just because they have power and money they "are right", "it's their freedom that's at stake" and they want to RULE the WORLD. History has proven them wrong many times. They will publish books about it, make speeches, talk about it on TV, and in general control the media about this subject. But it is wrong.
The lawmakers and Lady justice should be blind. To quote wikipedia on the subject: "Lady Justice is often depicted wearing a blindfold. This is done in order to indicate that justice is (or should be) meted out objectively, without fear or favor, regardless of identity, money, power, or weakness.". Yes that also includes weakness (as it should!).
Both of them are blind when it comes to the average person, but when it comes to money and power they become life's best friends and lovers.
Ahh, I'm sorry if this post is too much.
