One researcher in Iran openly said he steals research articles because to be able to read what he would need to read to do research would cost thousands of dollars per week. He's not alone either, there are millions of people illegally gaining access to research articles. That it is illegal, is the problem.

But things are improving. Despite the fact that most articles still exist behind a paywall, year over year more articles appear open access, that is they can be read and reused.  They go from a trophy that serves little value to researchers to something that is functional, that is to the benefit of research, not the detriment.