<i>And since the creator of the work is willing to give it away to you for free, it cannot possibly be &quot;piracy&quot;.</i><p>My client (who will remain unnamed) insists that I advocate for his position:  Just as a work-for-hire belongs to the party who paid the creator, surely it matters that the creator signed a contract with a publisher giving up rights to distribute the work in return for invaluable services?  Are you implying that the creator retains some sort of &quot;moral right&quot; to distribute copies of the work to whomever despite the explicit stipulations of the contract?