Men charged with theft of free newspapers Two men have been charged with theft for allegedly helping themselves to bundles of free newspapers from London Bridge railway station. The two South London men are said to have pinched bundles of the London Evening Standard, a freesheet, edited by former Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, that is handed out to …
The paper isn't really free, it's paid for by the advertising companies. The assumption is that every paper handed out will be read by at least one person, and thus the fee set for the advertising space.
If those bundles of papers are now not going to be each read by at least one person, there is a lost to the companies advertising.
Of course I'm not going to lose much sleep over that, but still would be a monetary value.
"The assumption is that every paper handed out will be read by at least one person, and thus the fee set for the advertising space."
As news has a limited life then presumably the newspapers are withdrawn after a few days? Newsagents used to return unsold newspapers - presumably for a refund. Do advertisers also get a rebate for unsold copies - if not then are the newspaper owners taking money under false pretenses?
"The paper isn't really free, it's paid for by the advertising companies. The assumption is that every paper handed out will be read by at least one person, and thus the fee set for the advertising space."
True. But the public (including the accused*) aren't party to the agreements so why should they be bound by them?
*Unless they're running the sort of circulation-boosting scam mentioned elsewhere.
"Theft by taking", will be the charge.
Hardly common sense.
Instead, it gets taken to a recycling centre, who will then either smash it up, shred it, or SELL it to you, so you can use it and throw it away again.
As for the rag in question, it is not even fit to wipe my arse on.
You can commit "theft by finding":
Theft by finding occurs when someone who chances upon an object which seems abandoned and takes possession of the object but fails to take steps to establish whether the object is abandoned and not merely lost or unattended. - Wikipedia
For example, if you take something from a skip (dumpster for our American cousins) because you think it's worth having then technically you can be charged with theft by finding - even though the original owner clearly no longer wants it. You're supposed to ask the owner's permission before you take it.
You can commit "theft by finding":
"Theft by finding occurs when someone who chances upon an object which seems abandoned and takes possession of the object but fails to take steps to establish whether the object is abandoned and not merely lost or unattended. - Wikipedia"
OK, but simply finding it isn't an offence. You have to take it as well :-)
"By copying a song/tune, leaving the original intact."
NO. That's copyright infringement, which is not theft under law or otherwise. Common misconception though thanks to recording / movie industry propaganda.
Here, let me help you understand the difference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFNKw2nYG9A
Something doesn't seem right with this story. Are we sure it is genuine? I can only find one other place that has run it (a US website), the names don't seem genuine, and it has general feel of a spoof story trying to see who will run it.
Although I'm prepared to be proved wrong, as I usually am whenever I think that the world can't really be that stupid.
How is prosecuting this a useful use of our criminal justice system. Which bozo at the CPS told the police to go ahead and charge? Unless they were well know to the police before but alway got off for lack of evidence and this time they were caught red handed. But as others have pointed out, if they are taking something that is given away free, have they broken the law by taking them all?
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Many years ago, I found that I was receiving an apparently "free" copy of the local "South China Morning Post".
I lapped it up, reading it before the usually one day late "The Register" arrived in my e'mail box.
Then I got qualms that, one day, I'd be lumbered with a massive newspaper bill.
The SCMP has gone from what I now reckon was a paltry HK$1 in the late '70s, to its grossly inflated HK$10 nowadays..... But I digress.....
I finally tackled the newspaper delivery office who also delivered SWMBO's "Ming Pao" Chinese squiggle-talk newspaper at the same time - and they calmed my fears by saying that my "free" SCMP was one of many freely handed out to bloat the SCMP's "Circulation figures".
How they also justified the free handing out the weekend edition of the "Financial Times" - I didn't bother to try to find out !!
Having spent ~20 years owning an up-market flat, I'm rather loath to sell up & move elsewhere, I'm afraid that the "free" SCMP will never re-appear!
There is also the charge of "theft by finding" a woman was recently charged with that when she found a ten pound note,because she just stuck it in her purse without making any effort to report it or find the owner.
What used to happen was you took to a police station,if nobody claimed it in 6 weeks,you could apply for it to be given to you,but police corruption stopped most folk from doing so and now most police stations will not handle even valuable items,like a purse with bank cards and obvious id,the police now expect you to return it,me I walk in to cop shop,drop items on counter and leg it quickly,otherwise you are there answering questions for hours and then get accused of theft !!
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