Editing Missionary Church of Kopimism (section)

==Tenets==
The followers of the religion are called ''Kopimists'' from ''copy me''.
A "Kopimist" or "Kopimist intellectual" is a person who has the philosophical belief that all information should be freely distributed and unrestricted. This philosophy opposes the monopolization of knowledge in all its forms, such as copyright, and encourages file sharing of all types of media including music, movies, TV shows, and software.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.revolutimes.com/2012/01/06/sweden-recognizes-file-sharing-as-a-religion/ |title=Sweden Recognizes File Sharing as a Religion |date=4 January 2012 |first=Jenny |last=Worman |publisher=RevoluTimes |accessdate=2 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111070619/http://www.revolutimes.com/2012/01/06/sweden-recognizes-file-sharing-as-a-religion/ |archive-date=11 January 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In fact, the act of withholding and economizing information through copyright is against the sacredness of information.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=John|first1=Nicholas A.|last2=Sützl|first2=Wolfgang|date=2016-04-02|title=The rise of 'sharing' in communication and media studies|journal=Information, Communication & Society|volume=19|issue=4|pages=437–441|doi=10.1080/1369118X.2015.1115888|s2cid=146594972|issn=1369-118X|url=https://zenodo.org/record/894638}}</ref> In its spiritual emphasis on copying as an ideal, Kopimism shares values with Chinese aesthetic traditions, in which "copying is valued not only as a learning tool (as it is in the West) but as artistically satisfying in its own right," a concept also called ''duplitecture''.<ref>{{Citation|last = Thompson |first = Clive |title = Imitation Can Be the Sincerest Form of Innovation |newspaper = Wired |date = 27 February 2013 |url =https://www.wired.com/2013/02/clive-thompson-imitation/ | accessdate = 2010-03-10}}</ref>

According to the church, "In our belief, communication is sacred."<ref name="Jackson" /> No belief in gods or supernatural phenomena apart from [[Kopimi]] itself is mentioned on their web site. ''[[Control-C|CTRL+C]]'' and ''[[Control-V|CTRL+V]]'', the common computer shortcut keys for "Copy" and "Paste," are considered sacred symbols. Some groups believe that Kopimi is considered to be a god, and others believe it to be a sacred symbol and spirit residing within every living being.

The community also holds a religious service known as "kopyacting" in which information is distributed to the believers using photocopiers.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Neethu|first=R|date=November 2013|title=My Religion: My 'Copy' 'Right'|url=http://nopr.niscair.res.in/handle/123456789/24560|journal=Journal of Intellectual Property Rights|volume=18|pages=566–575|via=NISCAIR Online Periodicals Repository}}</ref>

According to the Kopimist constitution:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kopimistsamfundet.org/main/kopimist-constitution |title=Kopimist Constitution |work=The First Church of Kopimism for the USA |year=2012 |accessdate=1 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513044913/http://www.kopimistsamfundet.org/main/kopimist-constitution |archive-date=13 May 2012 }}</ref>
* Copying of information is ethically right.
* Dissemination of information is ethically right.
* Copymixing (the copying and mixing of information with others) is a sacred kind of copying, more so than the perfect, digital copying, because it expands and enhances the existing wealth of information.
* Copying or remixing information communicated by another person is seen as an act of respect and a strong expression of acceptance and Kopimistic faith.
* The Internet is holy.
* Code is law.

On January 5, 2012, Kopimism was accepted by Sweden as a legitimate religion with an estimated 4,000 members.<ref name=":0" /> The religion's association with illegal [[Legal aspects of file sharing|file sharing]] has been said not to be a sign that illegal file-sharing will be excused from Sweden's zero-tolerance approach to the controversial matter.<ref name=bbc/>