I would say "A mistake" rather than "The mistake."

Another mistake in this analogy is that between criminal and civil law. Theft, in most if not all countries, is a criminal offense.

Piracy, formally known as copyright infringement (or copyright violation), is a criminal offense when done for financial gain, civil offense otherwise in countries which recognize software copyright. The vast majority of occurrences of copyright violation we see in the media are for personal use, not financial gain, thereby a largely civil legal matter, than a criminal one. Hence theft as a comparison is inaccurate.