Feds shut down nine websites in movie piracy crackdown

reply to post by Annee

It's theft when I watch a streaming TV show online that I don't share or save? A TV show I just forgot to DVR? That I technically already have a right to watch but a time is just inconvenient for me?

By that logic, I guess they'll be outlawing DVRs and computers next. And libraries.

More seriously though, I think the issue comes in levels of complexity. The movie and music industries are most affected but even they can't seem to work out their real issues and real concerns or even agree amongst each other. Plenty of documentary film makers are happy to have their films seen...however they are seen.


[edit on 1-7-2010 by ~Lucidity]

Originally posted by g146541
reply to post by boondock-saint

 

I agree but here's the big bummer the theatres that show said movies make literally pennies on the dollar to show these movies, that’s why a soda and popcorn requires a lien on your house.
They don't even give their distributers a break.

When revenue hits the billions on a single weekend, I wouldn't exactly call it "pennies on the dollar".

There are two types of people:
1. People who buy dvds/bluray.
2. People who don't.

Firstly, even if the authorities where somehow able to eradicate file sharing altogether, type 2 people are NOT going to miraculously turn into type 1 people.

Secondly, and probably more importantly, is that this "crackdown", is an exercise in futility. It's like the war on drugs. You can kick down doors, ruin lives, put good people in jail (or ruin them financially) all you want, peer to peer file sharing is going nowhere. Effectively, the "war on file sharing" will accomplish nothing besides ruining lives and fueling resentment towards the authorities.

The Boston Tea Party

The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. The incident remains an iconic event of American history, and other political protests often refer to it.

The responses referring to pirators as hypocrites don't seem to be presenting an alternative that is equal in strength or stronger than the current means of protest. Is stealing wrong? It certainly is. The internet has provided a fantastic means for us to acquire whatever we damn well want. I personally want to be able to go to a theater and watch 3 movies back-to-back for less than $10 again.

Around the time when the new Star Wars movies started hitting theaters did I notice the massive gap. My income remained the same, but the costs of these "luxuries" sky rocketed and thus was only able to afford one of them, not all three. Perhaps that puts me in a poverty bracket of some kind? Should I instead adhere to the fact that its out of my reach? Should I just stand outside the theater and beg the people coming out to please describe the movie to me? Should I just completely remove myself from its exposure, living in a country that is saturated by it? I can not afford $100/month for "On-Demand" cable television. I can't even afford a cell phone, $60/month just to talk to people.

Piracy is a fantastic means of protest. It has also helped spread media to many more people across the world. I for one will continue to help in any way I can. It has swelled into a juggernaut, to a point where governments have to plan budgets to get their enforcement agencies to battle it. I will not back down. I hope it comes back 10 fold and breaks hollywood, forcing them to adapt to a debt driven society that is getting poorer with each passing decade. Only then will I return to the theater. I can't break in to a studio and destroy a movie, much like the Tea Act protesters kicking crates of tea into the river. But, I certainly can enjoy the fruits of their high society labor at no cost to myself.

If you can suggest a superior means of protest to that, I'm all about discussing it. So please, unless you can ask yourself and understand why that angry mob is kicking crates into the water, don't be so quick to call them madmen.

Spectacular. We have murderers and rapists running around because we can't keep them in jail. However we can spend millions on going after movie pirates.

Somehow our list of priorities is screwed up. How about we get a handle on the other things wrong with society before letting the MPAA and RIAA tell us how to run things.

Prisoner's Dilemma

Originally posted by Durrilll
If you can suggest a superior means of protest to that, I'm all about discussing it.

How about something ethical, like a boycott?

This sort of "protest" is no better than walking into a store, deciding a dollar is too much to pay for a candy bar, sticking it in your pocket, and walking out. The honest thing to do is simply not take the candy bar at all, and no amount of pretzel logic will ever change that.

The prisons of the world are filled with people who share your sense of entitlement. Whether that is disturbing or comforting to you, only you can decide.

If you are seeking to justify theft on some sort of moral ground, however, you have failed.




[edit on 7/1/2010 by Majic]

Originally posted by Annee
It's Theft - - plain and simple. You are not entitled.

The justifications are astounding.

Ok. You convinced me.
But since its theft, why arent we prosecuting these people for grand scale robbery/theft, but for copyright infringement?
... speaking of, why do we even have seperate property laws for IP than for physical objects? ... could it be because the 2 are not entirely the same?

Originally posted by grey580
Spectacular. We have murderers and rapists running around because we can't keep them in jail. However we can spend millions on going after movie pirates.

Somehow our list of priorities is screwed up. How about we get a handle on the other things wrong with society before letting the MPAA and RIAA tell us how to run things.

You see selective crimes? Theft is a crime - - Period!

But because its benefiting you - - that makes it OK?

Originally posted by Majic

This sort of "protest" is no better than walking into a store, deciding a dollar is too much to pay for a candy bar, sticking it in your pocket, and walking out. The honest thing to do is to simply not take the candy bar at all, and no amount of pretzel logic will ever change that.

And that's what I do. Call me "goody two shoes or whatever" - - but its theft - - its a crime.

I've had many people invite me to movie sites. I simply decline.

There are - special deals - coupons - frequent movie goer - etc - - - for reduced rates if you are an avid movie goer.

I only go to the theater if its SciFi and/or major effects - - because those need to be seen on the big screen. I buy the expensive hot dogs and pop corn to support the theater.

Otherwise - - I Wait. I wait for the movie to be on Direct TV or rental. Then if I like it - I buy it.

Is it also a crime if it happened in spain ?

If I buy a DVD, rip it to my HD, to have a backup in case it gets scratched is that theft too?

[edit on 1-7-2010 by debunky]

Originally posted by Majic
Prisoner's Dilemma

How about something ethical, like a boycott?

This sort of "protest" is no better than walking into a store, deciding a dollar is too much to pay for a candy bar, sticking it in your pocket, and walking out. The honest thing to do is simply not take the candy bar at all, and no amount of pretzel logic will ever change that.

[edit on 7/1/2010 by Majic]

Stealing is wrong and there is no "moral" justification for it. If we devolve to an ethical solution, Hollywood will simply write off our minority as unmarketable and proceed with their current model. What we're doing now is working. The fact that governments have been spurred to come after Pirators is proof of that. History is littered with protests of an unorthodox, illegal, unethical, and even murderous nature.

Ethics is probably the best method that Hollywood would want us to use. We are no threat to them as a peaceful, law abiding objectionists. Federal agencies wouldn't have to bother with us and the media wouldn't need to market to us. It would not have the impact that piracy is having now. All change comes with growing pains.

Your opinion is the right thing to do, but I fear that nothing would come of it.

reply to post by Durrilll

I agree with many of your points. They can't seem to define fair use. Can't even agree among themselves, yet they get the feds to do their bidding for them and allow the court systems to be be both clogged up and to figure it out for them on our dime.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Wow, I hope that is not the case I have had times when I had movies on my DVR for over a year. I have to agree that in some cases it is not strictly black and white. If they are going to start this then DVRs should stop being produced and their functionality should be ended. I even have a few movies that years ago I recorded on DVR and made a DVD of.

As I mentioned earlier going to the movies costs more than I care to spend on a movie I might not like (see the post for my thoughts on Paranormal Activity). Had I paid anything for watching that movie I would have been upset. Instead of paying I found someone who had burned it to disk and watched their copy, I was more than happy to give it back.

I do rent movies some of which I wish I had not paid to watch. I also borrow movies that have either been paid for buy or downloaded. I have seen very few movies that are worth watching a second time. I am more than willing to buy some older movies though because they were much better even if they were B movies.

Most of the stuff I have seen today is just the same rehashed garbage they have given us for years.

Raist

reply to post by NoRegretsEver


People go to theater for different reason now, they don't go just to watch a movie.

IF you want to just watch a movie you can watch it online.

But if you want to go out of the comfort of your home, go out on a date, go out with the kids, go out just to socialize.

The movie industry needs to realize this and make changes.

IT is idiotic to go around and track websites down for uploading such material.

Technology changes, the industries need to adopt to it.

The movie industry is only creating issues for itself by forcing the federal agencies to close these websites.

reply to post by Raist


Well they can't seem to define the parameters and what's really at the core of their concerns. To start they just need to make a simple matrix for all the different kinds of content, how it was originally delivered, how they recoup their money and make profit, and go from there.Right now it's all over the board. Logic and rules that apply to music are different that those that apply to movies. They need to define WHAT the internet is. But again, I think at the core of it is more money for them, even though before the internet this market had equivalents they just didn't bother going after.

I mean what's next? You buy a DVD and it's encoded so that it only works with you thumbprint? So you can't "share" it with anyone?

The business model, as someone said, has to change too.

reply to post by ~Lucidity


Simple way past the finger print thing is to have “movie night” at someone’s house.


Seriously, though I wonder how the future will be. I think it will be this that will be one of the leading causes of the internet being “locked down”. As it is we are still really in the early years of the internet, heck it was only nine years ago when I first hooked up to it on my first PC. Things have changed so rapidly since then and programs have become more advanced and easier to use for the average person. I can see that within the next five years a move to start regulating the internet. Within the next ten years the internet will not be the free zone it is today. Sadly, though I have a feeling that I am being generous with my speculation on time, it most likely will happen sooner.

Raist

Originally posted by Annee

You see selective crimes? Theft is a crime - - Period!

But because its benefiting you - - that makes it OK?

Tell that to a rape or a murder victims family.

These companies are using law enforcement to keep them raking in the profits.

I think the current model of all new release movies at the cinema and on DVD costing the same no matter how much the actual production/movie cost to make has to go.

When a small indie movie that only cost half a million to make ends up making 200M you know someone has been ripped off big time. The end users of course.

No wonder people download them. And there is no way movies like that are losing money when it cost next to nothing to make them to begin with.

Originally posted by Durrilll
I don't believe that piracy, as mainstream would define it, is in any way a problem. If it costs $50-80 dollars to take your family to the theater, actors get paid tens of millions of dollars, opening weekends break profit records set the previous year, and the government chases after the little people for "stealing" from the rich... there is something wrong with the whole media/movie industry model.

[edit on 30-6-2010 by Durrilll]

thats what i'm seeing here too...
i guess people can, and do, argue that downloading movies (not for profit) is stealing...and should be punished??? (LOL!)
whats really ridiculous to me is that they are not losing money...the people downloading would not have the money to buy their overpriced media ANYWAY!

Nevermind.

[edit on 1-7-2010 by ~Lucidity]

oops double post

[edit on 1-7-2010 by grey580]