Comments on: Has online piracy reached a tipping point?

Across the globe, copyright owners are on the offensive and say jobs and the future of intellectual property is at stake. Can they do anything about it?

[KanineLupus]

Firstly, the comparisons btwn Google and TPB are ridiculous. Am a regular downloader and even I know, that the Google search engine is simply that - a search engine. TPB however is not only a specialist torrent site (providing not only specialist search facility but also feedback features to eliminate virus-loaded content... something Google does not supply), but a host tracker - several trackers in fact. They don't simply enable the downloading of copy-righted material - they facilitate.

I've heard several arguments surrounding the downloading of copyrighted material - some valid some ridiculous.

* Most ppl download music because they can't afford to buy it..... partly true. This relates to consumer piracy I know, not those DLing and reselling - hang those bastards out to dry. The price of CDs and DVDs never really came down here in Australia - the Australian recording industries fought hard to prevent that. If I had to put a price on my music collection, it would be many thousands. Now I'm not on a high income, so there is no way in hell I could afford to buy all those CDs. And I?m certainly not going to pay for a CD before I know if I even like the music! Like many others in the same position, I haven?t cost the recording industries or performers anything, as I wouldn?t have paid full price for those CDs.

* I don?t buy CDs or DVDs because I rarely use them. I prefer my music in digital format because that?s how I use it ? on my PC, my sound system (via my TVix 6500A PVR), on mine and my wife?s MP3 players etc. Now BUYING music digitally introduces a few dilemmas:

- DRMs. If I buy music through most online sites (iTunes, Amazon etc) it is wrapped in DRM copy-protection. This essentially limits how many of MY OWN devices I can copy the music to. On top of that, some devices (many media streamers included) won?t play DRM-wrapped content. Of course DRMs are easily removable, the easiest solution being to burn to disc and re-rip... but why should I have to.

- The cost of buying an entire album digitally can sometimes cost more than buying the actual CD ? how does that one work, given printing, transport and shop-front costs have all been eliminated??

- Quality. Oft times, online music retailers are charging good price for poor quality (bitrate) tracks. And what about those audiophiles after Lossless/Flac versions?? Forget about buying those anywhere!!

- The biggest retailer is iStore ? which requires installing iTunes. No way in hell am I putting that piece of bloatware anywhere near my computer!!

* Even though MySpace has been allowing artists to stream their music, many are still only ?gifting? 30 second samples... who wants to buy music they haven?t been able to FULLY preview??

* Many of the bands I listen to are difficult to even find in music stores here in Australia, which means I would have to turn to on-line CD sellers to buy those discs... without having the opportunity to have listened FULLY to the CD.

[KanineLupus]

(part 2 - sorry. word limit meant I couldn't present the argument in one hit)

* One thing that has only been lightly touched upon is the revenue GAIN from all this DLing. Where before smaller artists may have struggled to build a wide fan-base ? generating a fan base overseas used to involve touring, strong marketing, both TV advertising and gaining airplay, etc. That has vastly changed, and yet this has been slow to be recognised. How many smaller bands have crumbled because they couldn?t build a big enough fan base quickly to bring in sizeable revenue for the recording label??

Through Bit Torrent clients and their associated sites/forums; p2p; file share forums where users are utilising Rapidshare, Megaupload etc - uploading and then sharing via blogs and forums; people are now able to listen to bands they may likely have never known existed without these tools. Artists are now seeing their music being played across all corners of the globe without the massive cost of marketing. Many of the so-called profit losses by DLing of music are therefore negated ? their music may well have not been released in many countries to make those sales.

Such growth in fan bases also MAKES money for the artists. Touring for example; we are seeing artist touring over here in Australia that not so long ago wouldn?t have even been heard of over here outside of small circles. Touring equals big money, through ticket sales, merchandise, tour-copy CDs etc. Larger fan bases also ensure bands? longevity; more opportunities for sales.

The other thing to consider is that many new bands/artists can thank the likes of bittorrents and youtube for their discovery and career launch. I know of several new bands DELIBERATELY release debut recordings over on Demonoid. Record labels are known for expecting big and quick results, dropping many artists who don?t develop revenue in light speed. Many artists are now realising they can use the internet (including all the download formats) and they can take the time needed to develop their fan base without all the pressure.

So basically, what artists are losing on one end, they are gaining ten-fold on the other. I guess one of the reasons the media moguls/recording labels are whining is due to the fact that much of this new revenue is going to the artist and less to them! Maybe large record companies are so worried, because many don?t seem to be needed as much.

* The one DL type few have even mentioned is the one that by far eclipses movie-based content ? TV shows. In the USA, many TV shows are streamed for free on their own website. The problem is that you need to BE in the US to view the content. The rest of us are left to the mercy of our local networks. As a MASSIVE Stargate/Stargate Atlantis fan, I got fed up with my local network airing episodes 18-24 months behind current release ? and this is NOT an unusual. Pay TV stations are usually little better ? the W Channel here has only just started airing Pushing Daisies (recently canned in the US after two seasons), Men In Trees (same situation as Pushing Daisies!), Damages. They are WAY behind in Boston Legal, and the free-to-air for this show is also out of date.

In order to keep up with these shows, I have no choice BUT to DL them. If television networks made up-to-date releases available EVERWHERE, and made them ad-based (how difficult would it be to sell ad space at a local level??) I would HAPPILY watch my shows that way rather than DLing them via uTorrent. If media networks would air up-to-date content on their Pay TV branches outside of the US, that would provide another legal avenue. But while they are afraid of stepping on the toes of local free-to-air, that won?t happen any time soon.

Now sure, I can wait for a season to be complete in the US and buy the DVD online. The catch is that the media companies have enforced DVD zoning... meaning that the DVD released and bought in America is virtually unplayable over here in OZ, except on my laptop!!

[KanineLupus]

(part3)

* Then there is the area of software downloads. How many people who have DLed a copy of Photoshop actually have several hundred dollars to actually buy a copy, especially those using for private use and not making a cent off it?? How about the latest version of Nero??

The DLing of software has an extra advantage ? feedback on glitches and quality. I wonder how many bugs got picked up on with Vista by the thousands of ppl DLing the beta releases?? I?m sure the same will be the case with Windows 7.

* What the media companies are as yet failing to recognise, as that while they are complaining about loss of revenue due to content downloading, other legitimate spin-off businesses are thriving in the meantime. Media streamers/players are booming in their sales and becoming far more feature-rich ? many new PVRs and Media Streamers/recorders are even coming with BitTorrent clients inbuilt! Concert venues and their backers are doing very well due to far-increased fan bases and the equating ticket sales. ISPs are offering and selling faster broadband packages with increased DL limits. Media codecs (such as DivX)are vastly improving, new ones being developed.

CD & DVD are dropping ? but what people are missing is that DIGITAL sales are rapidly growing!! Many of us simply have no use for hard copies of our audio and video products.

At the end of the day, consumer piracy is here to stay, at least to some extent. It has existed since the days of VHS and cassette players. Instead of swatting flies, the media moguls need to really understand and utilise this new realm.

- Provide webpages for ALL their artists, where users can sit back and fully preview/listen to their works

- Do what some artists are doing themselves; release a couple of tracks (for free) to up-coming albums. This has been proven to generate new sales.

- Do away with these ridiculous DRMs, or at the very least, overhaul the system. DRMs are doing more harm than good. They also violate the consumer?s rights.

- Reduce the cost of digital-format music, and deal with online merchants selling poor quality music for good money!

- Deal with the afore-to mentioned issues relating to access to up-to-date episodes of our favourite shows, eliminating the need to ?illegally? DL them!

- Do away with DVD zoning. No matter what country I buy the DVD from, the media companies are still making good money!

- Respect this new generation of media viewers/listeners. Stop employing copy-right methods which deny the consumer their legal rights (the right to rip music for use on their PC or MP3 players, making perfectly legitimate back-up copies of our CDs and DVDs).

- Release ALL new movies and TV shows in a reasonably priced digital format, as well as the DVD/Blueray versions. Even stream TV shows locally WITH commercials.

- Stop all these frivolous efforts to stamp out illegal downloading. The more efforts made, the more improvements we have seen in anti-copy protection applications and download clients. Imagine what the media companies could do with all that talent if it wasn?t being used against them!

While the movie and recording industries show little respect to the general public, many will continue to ?stick-it to them?. Stop wasting BIG money on lawsuits and anti-piracy measures and instead use all that money and energy to fully use and capitalise on this new digital age. Take the time to UNDERSTAND the issues instead of fearing the situation - artists who are already doing so are GREATLY capitalising on this new digital arena.

Do that and piracy and illegal downloading will drop substantially.

[KanineLupus]

(Part4)

Here's an interesting aside I forgot to mention. Several months back, the Federal Govt. trialed a piracy monitoring program at ISP level. Many ISPs refused to sign up and a number of those who did opted out along the way because it was costing them big money - consumers who discovered their ISP was monitoring their downloads, sending infringement notices, simply took their business elsewhere!! Any attempts from the government to actually force the issue over here would likely see them voted out - it aint going to happen any time soon :)

Even globally, the ISP based tactic will likely fail. P2P/Torrent downloads mean more people are paying more for higher internet speeds and bigger download limits. There is NO incentive for ISPs to cooperate, and EVERY reason to continue to turn a blind eye

And where ISPs do sucumb, p2p file sharers will simply better disguise their media files or use better technology (such as up-coming improvements to bittorrent clients which are set to basically cloak peers/seeders) to get around them.

[KanineLupus]

(part5) Yes, another point, that I just thought of!!

I really do wonder if by taking on The Pirate Bay, the media industries haven't only made the problem worse. Look at the popularity of BitTorrent clients and thier usage now as to compared to only a few years back. Go five years and I was a regular Limewire user, as were many many others. As it grew in popularity, more viruses also became spread make it a minefield for anyone not tech-savy enough to pick out such files.

Now I tried the torrents, but a few years back there simply wasn't enough peers out there, and as such DL speeds were dreadful. I did like the advantage of the fact that as .torrent files needed to be downloaded from websites for the BitTorrent client tap into, this also provided the format for feedback to be provided, thus putting and end to most of the virus problems. But as I said, speed was the issue. How that has RAPIDLY changed.

With all the media hype generated by these very public legal suits, I really do wonder how many people formerly unaware of this file sharing method, are now making good use of it. I wonder if these lawsuits have actually INCREASED their own problem, simply by making a hell of a lot more people aware of of torrents, and making the system all the more usable for all by increasing the peer/seeder pool.

One also has to wonder what file-sharing inovation is sitting just around the corner, all as a recation to the media-moguls' heavy handed tactics. Will they EVER learn??

[Maccess]

It's a tipping point for illegal downloads, also in the sense that content creators realize that there is a market for legal downloads, and in a few years, it will be the only market. Robust sales at the iTunes music store proves this idea works, and the most appealing thing about "illegal downloads" isn't the getting free stuff illegally, it's the download part--from the comfort of your computer or smartphone keyboard.

[KanineLupus]

No it ISN'T a "tipping point" at all. Illegal downloading hasn't even blinked an eyelid! Give me ONE example of how such downloads have even slowed - I bet you can't!

Yes iTunes does very well, but many won't use it due to DRMs, often poor quality releases, and the need to install that bloatware called iTunes.

This is big-picture issue which media producers are to slow at coming to terms with, or even understanding. Until they do, piracy and illegal downloads aren't going anywhere - it will continue to grow all the more sophisticated. One example being Blueray - the previously hailled copy-proof format is already been gotten around.

[baconstang]

Some iTunes content has been DRM free for a couple of years, and now is completely free of DRM.

[soluto]

Watch my Cartoon and take on the pirate verdict

http://www.pcdisorder.com/2009/04/pirate-bay-walks-plank.html

David Miron

[Heebee Jeebies]

I am all for copyright owners being able to get what's coming to them. But, I think until software companies, hardware companies or anyone that makes a product that they expect people to pay for starts putting out decent products that do more than crash, slow your computer, etc. then they have no right to expect people to pay for it.

I am sick and tired of spending $600 on a package of software only to have it turn out to be the quality of a beta and an early beta at that. Then have no return recourse, basically my only right being to smile because I just got the shaft. By law any company that puts out a product that does not work as advertised should either have to refund all monies spent including shipping (to and from) as well as pay a set fee per hour for the time the customer wasted trying to get the product to work. Or, they should have to work with the customer to fix their problem. Not fix it with a for cost update, no fix it whenever they get around to it. But, be given a 30 day window to resolve the problem and provide that customer with a fix.

It is time for consumers to have rights too. It is our money, our time and it is time for us to get something in return when a company wastes it. Then maybe I will have more compassion for them when it comes to people stealing the stuff. Otherwise I think people are perfectly justified to download bootleg copies for an extended testing period to make sure it isn't crap. The same for movies and music.

Robert

[MrBoomshadow]

The argument that the technicians--stuntpeople, makeup artists, set builders, etc.--don't get paid is bunk. Union rules dictate paychecks up front for most of them. Does it mean they get fewer jobs? Not really. Most studios run at capacity year-round.

[baconstang]

No. Actually it means they don't work as often.

[JwRadcliffe]

Interesting perspectives from the general public as well as professionals. I pose this to the common citizen: You go to work everyday, do your job with the expectation of getting paid, landing the next big deal or even getting promoted. What if, a colleague steals your idea landing the big multi-million dollar deal that would have made you a super star? You'd be outraged on many different emotional levels, and for good reason.

Maybe you didn't pirate the entertainment or information directly from the creator, however, the creator is loosing out because they are not seeing the benefit of their hard work. Evolution encompassing rules and regulations for those that behave in a criminal matter must occur.

If you don't care about other peoples hard work being protected...why should they worry about yours?

Now let's re-evaluate "Morally Bankrupt" on a social human level.

JW RadCliffe

[screamapillar]

Ok, lets re-evaluate morally bankrupt shall we.

Hollywood moved from NY to LA to avoid paying patent royalties on the camera and film technology (to Edison's lot). Oh but that isn't morally bankrupt.

The RIAA and co charge outrageous amounts for CDs/DVDs and do not pass even a fraction of the proft (meaning post-production/distribution costs) to anyone but themselves. The artists get very little. Who is morally bankrupt here? And lets think, despite all that, these artists are getting VERY VERY rich. So they must be selling plenty of CDs for all those little slitthers to add up to big bucks. Seems to me, that on a socal human level, it would be morally bankrupt to not want to see redistribution of wealth.

The media distributors are attempting to monopolise art. Can you imagine someting more soul gutting than that for your morally bankrupt on a social human level? Copyrights are there to encourage more art, not to crush those that wish to access it.

Piracy is NOT theft. OMG what is with all of you so conveniently misinterpreting legislation like this? It is copyright infringement. By your example, it is the equivalent of having a car spot dedicated to you and someone parking on the line so it was harder to get in your spot. It isn't the end of the world for you, just annoying becuase you are used ot always having it easy parking in your spot. An infringement is NOT a crime. They haven't STOLEN your car space by parking on the line, they've infringed upon it. It is an infringement. It is morally bankrupt to use fear mongering techniques to suggest that infringement is equivalent to murder at high sea (using terms like piracy). It is morally bankrupt to suggest infringements are CRIMES (not in the crimes act) or that infringements are theft (theft IS in the crimes act). It is morally bankrupt to lie, cheat and steal just to prove someone else is infringeing on your car spot. It is morally bankrupt to bankrupt someone by throwing massive lawsuits at them for a CD not worth the disc it would be printed on. It is morally bankrupt to sue children and give them a criminal record for something as beautfiul as their love for music - on a SOCIAL HUMAN level, we should WANT our children to want art for arts sake, not for $39.99.

Are you seriously comparing downloading a CD to someone stealing "your idea landing the big multi-million dollar deal that would have made you a super star?" A single CD is not the entire world. A downloader is not "stealing" the CD for personal profit as per your example. It is a CD that wouldn't have got a sale anyway being downloaded - it simply isn't the entire world to that creator, it won't make or break them. It remains zero revenue. In fact, it goes from being zero revenue to potential revenue. It is the equivalent of someone "stealing" your ****** idea but selling it to the bosses in such a way - while giving you the credit for making it - that they then start coming to you for ideas.

There are legitimate arguements for and against FAIR USE and the methodologies for distribution of art and other "IP". You aren't talking about protection of content creators, you are talking about protection of copyrights, patents and the big corporate fatcats that make all the money. The artists get a bigger slice when they ditch those some money hungry fatcats - just look at Trent Reznor who is setting an example for content creators world wide.

So let's re-evaluate "morally bankrupt" on a social HUMAN level rather than on a corporations deserve all the money level.

[Gromit801]

More children trying to justify theft. Your principles are all crap, you don't want to pay, and that's the bottom line.

Thieves. Period.

[mailhacker]

Piracy gets its due @ http://codewidgets.blogspot.com/2009/04/impressions-piracy-gets-its-due.html

[Gastraveler]

I still go to movies. I still buy some CDs. ITunes and Amazon also get some of my money as well. The point being that the entertainment industry still gets my dollars. Downloading a movie or song does not keep me from spending my money. The items I download are things I would not pay for to begin with. Local music stores have gone out of business. Ordering CDs cost way too much for what you get. Blockbuster never has the movies I want available for rent when I want them. New DVDs cost too much. When I spend my dollars on entertainment it is for things I am pretty sure I will enjoy. I go to movies to enjoy a cinema effect that I cannot get at home, but it has to be a movie with really good reviews. So downloading has not stopped me from spending money on entertainment. It just has allowed me to enjoy a greater variety of entertainment that I would have not spent the money on to begin with.

[Renegade Knight]

All this work by contenet sellers makes it so much easier to drop out of enjoying their work. That in turn makes it worth less and makes their living suffer but then I don't care that they own the IP. I'm a selfish greedy consumer and my focus is enjoyment. If they make it hard to enjoy, I'll put the work effort somewhere else that has a better pay back. Something like poker night.

[Mergatroid Mania]

What kills me is when we hear estimates of what piracy costs authors and publishers. It's always over inflated.
I used to pirate tons of software, not to use but just to collect. Also it was interesting coming up with different ways to copy the origonal material.
Now, I find I have other more interesting things to do. Pirating software is just too much work.
So, how much money did the industries loose on my activities? Not much, because if I didn't copy all that software, I sure as hell would not have been purchasing it at the overinflated prices most companies charge (hello Microsoft) Besides, I didn't actually use 90% of it anyway, so it would never even have been considered for a purchase. However, the industry would have added up the price of every title no matter how much dust was sitting on it.
Same thing went for movies, I used to copy everything. Now, you can buy them at pretty reasonable prices with origonal packaging and artwork. I'm pretty happy to go to a store and purchase a new movie for $19.99 CDN. I have 500 titles in my collection now, all store bought and all becuase the prices are more reasonable than they were. My old pirated collection is collecting dust, because I've bought all the titles I want to rewatch.
As for the bigger companies like MS, if you look at how much profit they make, and the percent of the cost of a new computer the o/s makes up, it doesn't take a genious to realize they are ripping people off with how much they charge. Of course, since people want compatability with each other, they all pretty much want the MS operating system, without it your choice of softwar you can run goes down by about 90%. In this case I would say Go Pirates Go!

[George Riddick]

Hi Greg,

I always enjoy your articles, especially when you address the obvious conflicts so many people have these days about the "rights" and the "wrongs" of copyright protection in the digital era.

You haven't heard from me in quite awhile. I have been particularly busy here at Imageline. Doing what? Trying to protect this small graphic arts company from the devastation we have felt for the past 6-8 years because of the rise to prominence of the "free culture" mentality in this country.

A recent 18-month extensive research study we did found that over 95% of the Imageline content we discovered online had been pirated ... >95%! You tell me one other sector of any economy on the planet that could survive with that amount of theft ... whether it is real physical property or intellectual property, it is still theft. And the results are exactly the same.

It causes talented, hard-working, people, like the illustrators, designers, and digitizers we've employed here at Imageline for decades, to lose their jobs with virtually no hope, whatsoever, of replacing them in the fields that they love. All for the sake of the pirates continuing to give each other "free" daily massages, and serve each other "free" gourmet meals for lunch.

Why, in light of the Grokster Supreme Court decision, and other such "wins" by the copyright community, have the digital piracy rates continued to climb in this country?

Digital piracy is a global problem, not an American problem. Until we are willing to address the global nature of this problem (with action, not just rhetoric), the piracy rates will simply continue to rise until each copyright industry is methodically converted to a secondary role on the global stage. Right, Bollywood?

If someone downloads a movie, song, photograph, software program, or quality illustration online, it looks, works, and sounds just as good when it is downloaded from Indonesia, Pakistan or Peru, as it does from your local music store, if there even is such a thing anymore, or cable company.

So, publicizing and shutting down one illegal service begets four more. It's a vicious cycle with no self correcting solution if it continues to be ignored by the folks up in Washington. They are the only ones who yield real global strength. Not individual private sector companies or the studios.

Under our former administration, absolutely nothing was done to curtail digital piracy internationally. No trade sanctions, no high level endorsements, no enforcement activities on the street ... nothing. No negative publicity. Don't fool yourself into believing some of the government reports that say otherwise. Many of those were, and are, simply self- serving.

In fact, have you kept a close eye on the BRICs lately? That's Brazil, Russia, India, and China for anyone who didn't recognize that acronym at first glance. The economies of these four countries, alone, are going to dominate the rest of the entire world before we know it. And the piracy rates in these four countries is simply "off the charts". In other words, who needs Grokster, or Napster, or even the Pirate's Bay, for that matter, with the record these four countries have regarding copyright protections.

With our economy in the tank, intellectual property remains one of the most valuable "natural" resources we have in this country. But if we are simply going to sit back and allow whoever wants to steal our property to do so without serious consequences, what we will end up with will surprise us all ... both the "copyright" and the "copyleft" in this country. Just wait and see.

The trillion dollar question is this. Is it too late? I think the jury is still out on that important survival question, but I'll bet you we will all know this answer before the end Obama's first term. And let's all hope the answer is "no", and that we caught this devastating problem in time and had the "collective" resolve to fix it, before it was simply too late.

I know this is starting to sound a bit "cliche", but I firmly believe the quality of life of our children and grandchildren will depend on this answer, as well, as there is nothing that triggers the pride of being an American more than watching the results of our innovative and creative endeavors come into fruition.

It is copyright protection that has made all of this possible for the past 200 years. For goodness sake, let's not simply throw our hands up in the air, get down on our knees, and give it all away to those who would prefer to steal, or because the BRICs told us to, without a fight.

Thanks for listening!

George

George P. Riddick, III
Chairman/CEO
Imageline, Inc.

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