<s>
Lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
,	O
also	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
lost	B-Application
revenue	I-Application
,	O
income	O
or	O
profit	O
,	O
is	O
a	O
term	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
Internet	O
piracy	O
to	O
refer	O
to	O
sales	O
that	O
did	O
not	O
occur	O
because	O
potential	O
customers	O
have	O
chosen	O
not	O
to	O
buy	O
a	O
product	O
but	O
to	O
obtain	O
it	O
from	O
an	O
illegal	O
source	O
for	O
a	O
lower	O
cost	O
or	O
for	O
no	O
cost	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Figures	O
for	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
usually	O
assume	O
that	O
consumers	O
who	O
use	O
pirated	O
content	O
would	O
always	O
choose	O
to	O
purchase	O
the	O
product	O
at	O
the	O
market	O
rate	O
,	O
if	O
the	O
illegal	O
sources	O
were	O
not	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
content	O
industry	O
has	O
endorsed	O
studies	O
concluding	O
that	O
the	O
value	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
amounts	O
to	O
billions	O
of	O
U.S.	O
dollars	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
other	O
scholars	O
and	O
free	B-Application
culture	I-Application
and	O
copyleft	B-License
activists	O
argue	O
that	O
the	O
industry	O
figures	O
are	O
grossly	O
inflated	O
,	O
because	O
some	O
,	O
if	O
not	O
most	O
,	O
individuals	O
who	O
obtain	O
pirated	O
copies	O
would	O
not	O
have	O
purchased	O
the	O
content	O
,	O
even	O
if	O
the	O
opportunity	O
for	O
piracy	O
did	O
not	O
exist	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Estimates	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
commonly	O
are	O
given	O
in	O
the	O
values	O
of	O
billions	O
of	O
U.S.	O
dollars	O
for	O
the	O
U.S.	O
market	O
alone	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
worldwide	O
figures	O
being	O
several	O
times	O
higher	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
,	O
primarily	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
assumption	O
that	O
if	O
illegal	O
(	O
pirated	O
)	O
copies	O
were	O
not	O
available	O
,	O
the	O
consumers	O
of	O
such	O
a	O
pirated	O
copy	O
would	O
instead	O
purchase	O
the	O
product	O
at	O
an	O
average	O
market	O
rate	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Critics	O
of	O
the	O
"	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
"	O
concept	O
note	O
that	O
some	O
consumers	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
those	O
in	O
developing	O
countries	O
,	O
or	O
those	O
with	O
lower	O
income	O
such	O
as	O
students	O
,	O
may	O
not	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
afford	O
the	O
market	O
price	O
of	O
certain	O
products	O
and	O
if	O
there	O
were	O
no	O
pirated	O
copies	O
available	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
likely	O
they	O
would	O
simply	O
not	O
purchase	O
the	O
ones	O
available	O
at	O
the	O
market	O
price	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
academic	O
literature	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
consensus	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
piracy	O
is	O
clearly	O
correlated	O
with	O
reduction	O
of	O
revenue	O
of	O
sales	O
of	O
the	O
pirated	O
product	O
,	O
and	O
estimates	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
have	O
been	O
similarly	O
criticized	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
2010	O
U.S.	O
government	O
report	O
noting	O
that	O
many	O
commonly	O
cited	O
figures	O
cannot	O
be	O
substantiated	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
estimates	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
translated	O
to	O
concepts	O
such	O
as	O
lost	O
jobs	O
or	O
reduction	O
in	O
individual	O
or	O
national	O
incomes	O
have	O
been	O
shown	O
to	O
be	O
highly	O
problematic	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
2009	O
court	O
case	O
,	O
United	O
States	O
v	O
.	O
Dove	O
,	O
ruled	O
that	O
the	O
content	O
industry	O
equation	O
of	O
lost	B-Application
sales	I-Application
with	O
illegal	O
downloads	O
is	O
not	O
valid	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
judge	O
noting	O
"	O
Those	O
who	O
download	O
movies	O
and	O
music	O
for	O
free	O
would	O
not	O
necessarily	O
purchase	O
those	O
movies	O
and	O
music	O
at	O
the	O
full	O
purchase	O
price	O
...	O
although	O
it	O
is	O
true	O
that	O
someone	O
who	O
copies	O
a	O
digital	O
version	O
of	O
a	O
sound	O
recording	O
has	O
little	O
incentive	O
to	O
purchase	O
the	O
recording	O
through	O
legitimate	O
means	O
,	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
necessarily	O
follow	O
that	O
the	O
downloader	O
would	O
have	O
made	O
a	O
legitimate	O
purchase	O
if	O
the	O
recording	O
had	O
not	O
been	O
available	O
for	O
free.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2015	O
Peter	O
Sunde	O
(	O
co-founder	O
of	O
Pirate	B-Application
Bay	I-Application
)	O
created	O
a	O
device	O
called	O
Kopimashin	O
to	O
"	O
show	O
the	O
absurdity	O
on	O
the	O
process	O
of	O
putting	O
a	O
value	O
to	O
a	O
copy	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
