Is illegal downloading a sin? There are several places where the Bible says that stealing is a sin.


  Exodus 20,15 (KJV)
  Thou shalt not steal.


But is downloading software content like games, music, or films illegally (i.e. you don't pay for it while you should) a sin too?
Does it count as stealing?
Can we tell exactly that this or that counts as stealing or does it depend on the situation?

I know that physically nothing is stolen, and the creator do not lose anything, but in the creators purse there will be less money. People would be using the result of his work and he wouldn't get rewarded, while maybe this is his main source of income. Also the downloader enjoys something that he hasn't paid for.
Do we really count something as stealing if the harmed person/company loses something? Doesn't the loss of income count as a loss?

On the other side, it is easy to tell that this is a sin, but then look to the people of earth. Almost everybody using some kind of illegal content (even faithful Christians). Lots of people say that they can't afford it, while the software is essential to them.
Let there be no mistake: illegal downloading is not stealing. It is infringement, which is something that can be superficially similar to stealing when done in certain ways (like downloading), but in the end is not quite the same thing. Calling illegal downloading "theft" and leaving it there is wrong and distorts the issue. 

However, it is also not correct to say that there is no harm to the owner or creator when you infringe their work. The harm may be small or much less than theft, but it is still real. Trespassing might be a closer analogy, but that's not quite right either... the reality is somewhere in between the two. There is something like "theft", because you have taken something that does not belong to you, but legally it's more like trespassing, because you have not deprived the owner of any property, in the same sense that if you trespass you can be said to have "stolen" time and use of someone else's land, but did not steal the land itself.

Mostly, though, I think it's important here to think about the harm to yourself. Because there is harm to the creator of the work, and because illegal downloading is, well, illegal, you cannot hope to participate in this activity without creating serious harm to your own conscience. If you do participate in this activity and don't feel any guilt, it is because your conscience is already damaged. 

In other words, even setting aside the theft issue, illegal downloading is most definitely sinful. It is harmful to your conscious, it is harmful to the creator and copyright owner, and it violates the law of the land. In addition to the Romans 13 verse used elsewhere by other answers here, I am reminded of Jesus answer to whether we should pay taxes. He said that we should give to Cesar what is Cesar's, and to God what is God's, implying that we must respect the government and it's laws, even when those laws might not make sense to us. I believe the Golden Rule of Matthew 7 also plays a part here. If you were a publisher, you would want others to respect your copyright and whatever licensing terms you chose.