ACTA

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eMTe
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ACTA

Post by eMTe »

In fact Im not interested in discussion about ACTA which got an unnecessary publicity in Poland recently. I wonder what are your views on intellectual property, piracy and similar topics in general. What's bad, what's good, what's useful and what's not for the future of so-called intellectual property and widespread knowledge in general.
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Pater Alf
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Re: ACTA

Post by Pater Alf »

When it comes to piracy and the "stealing" of intellectual property, I really get mad. For me it's very easy: If you want quality content, pay for it for christ's sake! The discussion isn't about any megastars who gained millions of dollars with their works (I don't care about Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Tom Hanks or Tom Cruise), it's about the hundreds and thousands of small artists who have to make their living with their art and who need the income of every single sold copy/ticket, so they can get on and make the next album, movie or game.

Most people who download stuff from the internet without paying for it are just greedy. They don't appreciate the wor of the artist, they just want o have it, because they can and they will probably never get caught doing something illegal. Of course they will try to justify their deeds with obscure reasons (like "knowledge for everyone" or "you can't steal intellectual property, because it isn't there for real"), but in the end they are just simple thieves.

If you really want something for free, there are still thousands of artists who give away their work for free (just look at all the netlabels and freeware sites for example or at the many bandsites where you can download single tracks for free). That's fine and very noble of them and you would have enough music, games and movies for the rest of your life if you would just concentrate on them. There's no need to steal from the artists who decided that they want to do they art as a full-time job and so have to take money for it.

I'm sorry If anyone feels offended by what I wrote, but there are so many great bands, game creators and movie makers that have to quit, because people are not willing to pay for their work (but download it for free instead) and I'm sad about every single one.
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Zyx
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Re: ACTA

Post by Zyx »

While I'm all for respecting copyrights and the right of the creator to make money, I think the copyright system as it stands in the western world is already heavily tilted towards the copyright industry and as a result the copyright industry is hanging on to severely outdated and flawed business models.

All the innovation since the CD has come from the tech industry, not the copyright industry: Netflix, iTunes, Spotify. The latest innovation from copyright industry? Rootkits on music CDs, "Digital copies" on DVDs and Blu-Rays that require special software and are of lower resolution than a YouTube clip.

Somehow the internet piracy hurts only music and movies, not PC games which had a record year last year and will surpass consoles(!) this year. Somehow Steam could actually sell games in Russia, instead of everyone just pirating Counter-Strike. Somehow both iTunes and Steam conquered the global digital market for their stuff, even though Apple primarily makes things with as few buttons as possible and Valve doesn't now how to make third installments of games, ie. not content distribution as a main business. Now they are the big ones. How have the traditional distributors embraced the internet? With open hostility.

In Finland, like in many European countries, you pay a levy for blank CDs etc. for the "harm" personal (not illegal, but the one you're allowed to do) copying does for the copyright industry. Last year, the copyright industry wanted to extend this levy also to computers and cell phones. Just because the levies from CDs were down (because who uses CDs anymore to store anything?), not because personal copying (the supposed reason) had increased. The irony of course is that the copyright industry also sells music digitally so they'd want a cut of each GB that will more likely contain the original copy of your music.

Artists moan that they get a bad cut from Spotify plays, as if they got anything from pirated plays. The result? I see artists and labels dropping out of Spotify. Want to bet if they see increased revenue or increased piracy that way?

Also, take a look at these pie charts. Compare the share of Bittorrent traffic in US where there's Netflix and Europe where there's not. The copyright industry successfully subverted the court system and got the major ISP to block off Pirate Bay. The effect on Finnish internet traffic? None. (there was a graph somewhere, but I can't find it).

I do not see the point of taxpayers subsidizing content industry at all costs and letting them use police as a personal copyright enforcement agency. I don't see why taxpayers have to subsidize mutlinational corporations that fail to innovate or respect their customers. I don't see how the society is better off by enforcing stricter copyright laws. I think the opposite is true, the faster dissemination and combination of information improves the world. The world moves forward only through creative destruction and if a business doesn't want to adapt, well, I'm all for the market forces to play it out.
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eMTe
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Re: ACTA

Post by eMTe »

I think, to adapt, business forces must understand motivations (both ideological and psychological) behind people who support piracy or simply download illegally uploaded material. First, there's a general feeling that by copying and distributing electronic data one doesnt "steal", because you can multiply the original eternally without depriving others from it. You dont steal a beautiful landscape by taking photos of it, right? Second, easiness of obtaining goods. It's easier (and modern people love comfort) to download something for free and quickly check it than grabbing a wallet, driving to shop, buying a record or a game and returning home. So punishing people who download illegals is like punishing somebody who walked home instead of paying for bus ticket.

Third, there's an issue of scale and time. Amount of things available in internet is so huge and lack of any responsibility so deep that many people simply lost recognition what is legal and what's not. You want a movie, you click on link and after an hour you have it. Together with tens of millions of other people. Nothing happens, police doesnt knock at your door. Response comes too late, because the roller caught too much speed. It is possible to charge a few individuals, but it's impossible to charge millions.
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eMTe
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Re: ACTA

Post by eMTe »

;)

Intellectual property issue in full blossom.
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Re: ACTA

Post by Chroelle »

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