piracy

Meanings

1. Robbery at sea, a violation of international law; taking a ship away from the control of those who are legally entitled to it.
2. A similar violation of international law, such as hijacking of an aircraft.
3. The unauthorized duplication of goods protected by intellectual property law.
4. The operation of an unlicensed radio or television station.
5. Kleptoparasitism.

Etymology

From Medieval Latin pīrātia, from Classical Latin pīrāta + ia, or Ancient Greek πειρατεία (peirateía). The sense of “unauthorized duplication” developed in England between 1660 and 1710. The English Crown granted strict monopolies over book printing to specific guilds, such as the Stationers’ Company. Printing a book without permission was framed as an unlawful attack on the Crown’s authority and revenues. By labeling rogue printers as “pirates”, authorized booksellers equated them with sea robbers operating outside the bounds of civilized society. By the passage of the Statute of Anne in 1710, this usage was deeply entrenched in public consciousness as the definitive descriptor for the unauthorized duplication of books, and was later applied seamlessly to new media as they emerged.