Extremists on Both Sides Means Piracy War Goes On Forever

enigmax
January 30, 2011
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piracy
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The war on piracy had simmered at a relatively low-level for many years, but with the advent of Napster and its predecessors it was inevitable that the entertainment industries would respond violently. But with that force comes the backlash and a hatred for those who would take everyone’s freedoms, especially online, to protect a business model. As a result, the vast majority of file-sharers get caught in the crossfire, between two parties who will always be at war. But peace can be found.

When referring to the so-called piracy menace, the entertainment industries love to draw beautifully clear battle lines.

On one side sit the music and movie creatives, leaking blood, sweat and tears over their latest masterpieces. The toils of their labor will bring joy and happiness to millions while providing much-needed employment and a positive effect on the economy. If you’re looking to join a team of damn fine upstanding good guys, then this is the side to be on.

If, however, you prefer the forces of darkness and intend to steal, thieve and defraud your way through the Internet, look no further than the opposing team. These scummy parasites contribute nothing, but instead munch their way through endless piles of media without a single thought for anyone but themselves. They never spend their money and are ruining the entertainment industries and the economy bit by bit, each and every time they connect to the Internet.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that when the piracy ‘problem’ is defined like this, with good on one side and bad on the other, reaching a compromise is unlikely. In reality the situation should be explained in much broader terms, to encompass the reality of the file-sharing landscape and to acknowledge the status of the majority in the middle.

Let’s not delude ourselves. There are people out there who won’t pay for any media, literally none whatsoever. If it’s not nailed down it’s getting downloaded. They won’t even pay for their cable TV and if a cloned modem or other hacked box is available, they aren’t paying for Internet access either.

Equally, there are some crazy people in the entertainment industries who think that some day it will be possible, given enough force, aggression, technical measures and political pressure, to force everyone to pay for every single last piece of media, not just once, but time and again.

Given these opposing standpoints with a veritable Grand Canyon between them, it’s little wonder that the file-sharing problem has turned into a war. But, in common with all wars, there are millions caught up in the middle who while tending to take sides, neither want nor deserve to be subjected to a massively polarized situation brought on by the feuding and unmoving factions on either side.

The other reality is that, to a greater or lesser extent, the millions stuck in the middle of this war are all pirates to some degree. It’s very difficult to go about our daily business without infringing someone’s rights in today’s environment. Many millions will also download music and a movie here and there, or take the opportunity to grab a TV show from BitTorrent that aired at an inconvenient time or in another country.

But these very same people buy and finance media too. They are consumers of regular TV, they go to the movies and pay for music in a dozen different forms, they go to concerts, buy products from ads with the latest Beyonce track in the background and make straight purchases from iTunes. They buy DVDs, they buy software, they buy magazines and they buy books.

Last year someone helping with one of my articles commented “you must be the biggest pirates in the world at TorrentFreak”, and then responded with surprise when I revealed how much I spent on all sorts of media and entertainment in the previous 12 months. Just because people have the means to pirate, it doesn’t necessarily follow that they do.

Nevertheless, for those who supplement their paid purchases with a visit to The Pirate Bay once in a while, the entertainment industries’ uncompromising stance means that they too are labeled in terms close to that of sub-human scum, but as millions of us know the piracy battle lines are nowhere near as clear cut as the industry lobbyists would have governments believe.

But we aren’t on the brink of disaster either. As long as the overwhelming masses continue to understand that they can’t pirate everything all of the time and that a reasonable amount of money has to be made on media in order for it to exist, things will be just fine.

However, if the entertainment industries continue with their current position – that they are absolutely entitled to their untold billions at any cost, that there is no middle ground, that all file-sharers are simply evil and should expect their activities to be monitored, throttled and legislated against – they should expect fewer moderates and more extremists in the future.

Peace lies in the middle with the moderates being treated as such, but if the extremists on both sides have their way we will all be dragged into the persistent fighting of a war that simply cannot be won.

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DJDANKVT

Exellent reporting Torrentfreak! Keep up the good work!
NerfHerder

I didn’t want the filter to catch it.. hence the obvious typo
NerfHerder

I think this whole thing will just implode on itself you know the whole mpaa and anti anything against Anonymous. silly if you ask me to go up against the internet.
lawlz

word.
http://twitter.com/mugano_ai Bryan Humphreys

A person who goes to a Bob Dylan concert probably contributes more to him financially than if they purchased all of his albums (and there’s dozens of them). The RIAA/MPAA are middle men that take a 95% cut. The only way they got away with it was because of technological limits. But now technology has evolved beyond them, there will always be content producers and consumers but the middle men are expendable.
- BrN
  
  you’re right about the middle men (which are actually the man on top, from another perspective). Their work and social utility are decreasing more and more and they still get a huge profit, distorting an economy that could be working more effectively towards a much larger cultural distribution and even production. But there are some power mechanisms out there (the copryright law being the major) unbalancing it all.
- BrN
  
  you’re right about the middle men (which are actually the man on top, from another perspective). Their work and social utility are decreasing more and more and they still get a huge profit, distorting an economy that could be working more effectively towards a much larger cultural distribution and even production. But there are some power mechanisms out there (the copryright law being the major) unbalancing it all.
  - Ziggazig-ah
    
    Absolutely. But the record companies are even worse than that. They’re not just taking a 95% cut of the net profits from record sales (after the distribution and production costs of the record have been deducted, so quite a bit more than 95% of the gross profits), but they’re also expecting to recoup the advance paid to the artist in lieu of the record actually being recorded, hence the artist will most likely be paying back all of their royalties to the record company for quite some time before they will actually begin to make any money from record sales. For the record company it’s a win-win scenario, for the artist it’s almost always lose-lose.
    
    Many of the anti-filesharing brigade will point to the number of artists signing up to record companies as proof that it’s good for the artist, but for the vast majority it’s anything +but+ a good thing. In the past they had no choice as the record company cartels held the carte blanche monopoly over widespread distribution, but now that their control has been broken, it doesn’t make much sense for a small artist to sign to a label other than for publicity.
    
    That said, it would be more cost effective to actually sign a publicity deal with a marketing/publicity agency and retain all of the net profits for themselves. I foresee this being the future model for many an artist – self recording/production, then employing people with reach into publicity markets to drive sales to the artist’s online presence.
- BrN
  
  you’re right about the middle men (which are actually the man on top, from another perspective). Their work and social utility are decreasing more and more and they still get a huge profit, distorting an economy that could be working more effectively towards a much larger cultural distribution and even production. But there are some power mechanisms out there (the copryright law being the major) unbalancing it all.
Fudd

the more movies Netflix has to stream, the less I download movies via torrents. When Netflix has all the movies that are available on torrent sites, then I will not need to visit torrent sites. I am happy to pay my $8 a month to watch all the movies I want instantly. When there is a music streaming site that has all the music that is available via torrent, I will gladly pay another $8 a month to access it. This is the only solution to the so-called “piracy” problem. Those who have ears, let them hear.
- http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7JB7DGE65KDWSWJWI4E3356SNQ Charles
  
  Well, that’s all good if you have a Windows or Mac computer, but what about those of us with Linux? I wouldn’t be opposed so much to Netflix if they could make an app for us Linux users.
  
  Then of course the whole DRM subject comes up… End-users of torrents have access to DRM-free media. While Netflix data is most likely DRMed to death. With torrents, I can download a movie onto my hard drive, and wait to watch it WHEN I WANT TO WATCH IT. I can even wait so long, that the same movie comes out on DVD and I actually rent it, and watch the DVD. Then if the movie sucked royally, I’ll likely just delete the whole thing. I wouldn’t get such treatment with Netflix. Download it, and hope I watch it in the next 3 days (I’m guessing, since I don’t have Netflix) before it becomes unplayable.
  
  Please correct me if I am wrong.
- Dave
  
  The problem with streaming content is that streaming is inefficient. You want to watch it twice, you stream it twice. Every movie I download, I may end up watching several times a year. Every TV show, two or three times. If I run out of drive space, and need to delete something, or if my storage drives crash and I have to re-download everything, I’m still WAY ahead of someone who streams everything they watch.
  
  A pirate consumes a tiny fraction of the last-mile bandwidth compared to Netflix or Hulu users.
  
  It’s time for content providers to utilize our talents and motivations. We’re ready, willing and able to provide distribution services to get your content to your audience. You work with us, we’ll work with you.
  - StevO
    
    Its actually much simpler than that. All they have to do is “product placement” in TV shows and movies. Instead of commercials you actually see products in the show and the commercials can go away. Then they can distribute the damn things for free . Face it, its only commercial money they get for TV shows as it is. Its so messed up how they do their business that they dont even know what to do.
- Agrovator2112
  
  Well, Its only until they can stop piracy that the $8 a month will be there. After they regain control those prices will escalate dramatically.
  - chris
    
    @stevo – they will *never* regain control. the genie is out of the bottle and there is no way to put it back in. the music labels spent a decade ignoring and then suing a whole generation of potential customers.
    
    the war will rage on, but the opportunity to take control is long gone. the practical reality is that centralized control of content is simply impossible. piracy in all forms is a mathematical certainty and there is nothing that the industry can do to stop it.
    
    my concern is that another 10 years will go by, and another slew of poorly thought out laws will be enacted before hollywood wakes up and realizes that they can’t win.
- brudda
  
  I looked at Netflix a couple months ago, and their streaming selection was lame, pathetic, and absolutely useless. I wouldn’t want anything they have for free, let alone pay for it.
- There is
  
  Spotify has 8million music tracks, not all but alot of major artists.
  
  its free. but premium packages can be bought for 5 & 10
NerfHerder

you miss out the point the fact that Netflix upsets the deaf/International audience. They do not support closed captioning. while on dvd’s some do , not all of them. they made empty promises to the world that they would add subtitles support. this was years ago. today is 2011 and guess what. they still don’t have subtitles options for their streaming and not all dvd’s have subtitles. might wanna step back on your netflix piracy alternative there. THink about why deaf/international are forced to piracy due to accessibility problems which will never get resolved until people allow it written into law to force all media to be captioned and toggle ability.
- Fudd
  
  ok, so people in other countries need to start their own streaming sites that accomodate their own needs. if Netflix doesn’t want their money or deaf peoples money, then someone else will take it and set up a site for them. free market
  - No
    
    Problem is, it’s not a free market.
    
    Copyright creates false scarcity, to make sure there is a limited supply for the demand, it’s a legal monopoly, encouraged and protected by the state, where other monopolies are fought against.
    
    The ownership of the copyrights of main stream media is in the hands of a select few, and each piece of work can only have 1 owner. Ideally the 1 owner is the artistic creator, but in reality, the copyrights of all major works rests at the hands of the record or movie companies, who in turn form alliances, such as ifpi, mpaa/riaa etc.
    
    This means that whoever wants to sell something, has to get it licenced from the source, source can then decide who gets to sell, and who doesn’t.
  - No
    
    Problem is, it’s not a free market.
    
    Copyright creates false scarcity, to make sure there is a limited supply for the demand, it’s a legal monopoly, encouraged and protected by the state, where other monopolies are fought against.
    
    The ownership of the copyrights of main stream media is in the hands of a select few, and each piece of work can only have 1 owner. Ideally the 1 owner is the artistic creator, but in reality, the copyrights of all major works rests at the hands of the record or movie companies, who in turn form alliances, such as ifpi, mpaa/riaa etc.
    
    This means that whoever wants to sell something, has to get it licenced from the source, source can then decide who gets to sell, and who doesn’t.
5318008

I dunno man. Looks to me like you’re trying to paint extremists at either end of the spectrum you represent here as equally wrong on the issues. I don’t agree with that.
- http://www.pirated.me/ Leo Ghost
  
  Too much of a good thing, eh?
  
  I’m for copyright reform. That isn’t saying I want to get rid of it completely, I understand the original intent and believe strongly that a form of it should exist so that both the creators and users are benefiting.
  
  If copyright is everything then the users lose (and with no users, the creators lose). If copyright is abolished the creators lose (and trickle down, the users lose too). There needs to be a moderate balance, such as personal use is free for personal growth, commercial use is commercialized and costs.
  
  I own my own business, and if I want to use a song in an advertisement I realize I need to pay for that. If I want to listen to a tune while I jog I see no need to have purchased a version of that song exclusively for that purpose.
  
  In this case, I would argue that both extremist sides are equally wrong – the industry that wants money and those who will never pay regardless of price.
  - Momo
    
    “If copyright is abolished the creators lose”
    
    That’s one of the big questions of our times. DO THEY? Is copyright really necessary for the creation and publication of new art? Assuming offhand that that’s the case, is what has led to the exponential expansion of copyright terms, and imo it’s a huge mistake.
    
    More importantly, is there a business model that can work without any copyright that can sustain the creative economy (minus the armies of lawyers)? For instance, is there a way for musicians to use recorded music as a means of promoting the sponsorship of music they’ve yet to write? Time will tell.
    
    On a side-note, I totally agree with you that if non-commercial copying is legalized, most other problems will be moot. After all, that’s the part of the copying exclusivity privilege that most often conflicts with the right of the individual to use their possessions in the way they wish.
    - http://www.pirated.me/ Leo Ghost
      
      Great reply!
      
      I agree with your first point completely. Clearly what has formed the way we currently see copyright is the result of greed piled upon power. It started with a basic system and that system grew hungry. If a new system were to be put into place, safe guards would need to be constructed to maintain a civil order.
      
      Crowd sourcing could provide the answer to your next point. That leads to a better defined question, how could a completely unknown artist be discovered to the degreed needed for crowd sourcing to be an effective fund-raising tool? Today we have music labels that track down artists and “fund” their activities. I can see the average music label changing from what they are today into something of a talent finding agency.
      
      Exactly. Music especially is far too restricted, opening it up to be free for personal use would allow for smaller artists to be on a level playing field with bigger artists. Ultimately in that type of system the best music would be heard the most, and the best artists would be signed to do commercialized work (music for movies, commercials, live performances, etc.). It seems the only way to put such a concept into place is to start a record label ourselves and use that type of system from the start, over time as our artists grow so would the concept. Downside? That’s going to cost. Quite a bit.
      
      Ah, capitalism.
  - anon
    
    “Copyright reform”? This is nonsense. Numbers or ideas of any kind cannot be owned, and therefore should not be controlled. By anyone. For any reason. Period.
    - http://www.pirated.me/ Leo Ghost
      
      We’re not talking about numbers, as the digital files would be freely available to anyone for personal use. I’m speaking about complete works as well, not single ideas in the rawest form.
      
      No one should be allowed to own an idea. If you put the effort into making that idea happen, and a business would like to use it to promote their brand, I feel as though that company should need to pay said artist for their time and effort. This creates a system where only the best artists are the ones making money, not simply the artists that Hollywood decides to push.
      
      Thanks for the reply though, and feel free to share more thoughts. Debate only reveals new ideas and concepts!
    - http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7JB7DGE65KDWSWJWI4E3356SNQ Charles
      
      I like to think of the Human Race as a collective mind, with billions and billions of thoughts individually, but collectively can be stronger than any supercomputer. Think how better our lives would all be if we added our ideas to each other, instead of keeping them to ourselves. Ideas would no longer die with the individual. They would remain for all time. They would not be forgotten. Then we really could have an empire spanning galaxies. We could take care of this planet and continue exploring other planets.
    - DocGerbil100
      
      … The only problem with this scenario is that most people’s ideas are bat’s-arse insane and letting them die with the individual is usually for the best. :P
      (for more details, see the post you replied to – and have a think about it’s implications)
    - DocGerbil100
      
      … The only problem with this scenario is that most people’s ideas are bat’s-arse insane and letting them die with the individual is usually for the best. :P
      (for more details, see the post you replied to – and have a think about it’s implications)
    - DocGerbil100
      
      … The only problem with this scenario is that most people’s ideas are bat’s-arse insane and letting them die with the individual is usually for the best. :P
      (for more details, see the post you replied to – and have a think about it’s implications)
    - brudda
      
      I like to think of the Human Race as a big pile of poo-poo surrounded by buzzing flies…
    - DocGerbil100
      
      “Ideas” is a term that covers an awful lot of things. I’m really not on board with any system that allows nutters in religious dictatorships access to formulae, blueprints, etc, for chemical weapons or nuclear-warheads. Not a good idea. At all.
    - DocGerbil100
      
      “Ideas” is a term that covers an awful lot of things. I’m really not on board with any system that allows nutters in religious dictatorships access to formulae, blueprints, etc, for chemical weapons or nuclear-warheads. Not a good idea. At all.
    - DocGerbil100
      
      “Ideas” is a term that covers an awful lot of things. I’m really not on board with any system that allows nutters in religious dictatorships access to formulae, blueprints, etc, for chemical weapons or nuclear-warheads. Not a good idea. At all.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Which is more or less the sensible approach.
    
    Unfortunately, the industry is stuck in a different paradigm. And they will keep right on being stuck in that paradigm for as long as their legal departments and marketing teams can convince sales that it’s a justifiable business approach.
    
    A corporation in the end will only listen to the gross margin and profit line. That’s more or less it’s business. The only thing which will make a corporation back down from a perceived business model which should in theory net a 900% GM will be the threat of legal implications or direct bankruptcy.
    
    And that’s where the use of the pirate extremists come in. In order to even be able to gain the background required to bring a sensible approach for the non-commercial applications to the table, we first need to starve a number of the bigger industries out of existence. If Warner and Sony went down, the rest of them would no doubt start seeing an urgent need to trim sails and survive by adopting a business model which worked.
    
    I don’t see Sony dropping just yet despite the massive impopularity it’s garnered over the PS3-hack or the rootkit. And so we will just have to remain in the trenches and realize that even the extremist pirates who do not invest any money in media by their actions fulfill a vital role in the war.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Which is more or less the sensible approach.
    
    Unfortunately, the industry is stuck in a different paradigm. And they will keep right on being stuck in that paradigm for as long as their legal departments and marketing teams can convince sales that it’s a justifiable business approach.
    
    A corporation in the end will only listen to the gross margin and profit line. That’s more or less it’s business. The only thing which will make a corporation back down from a perceived business model which should in theory net a 900% GM will be the threat of legal implications or direct bankruptcy.
    
    And that’s where the use of the pirate extremists come in. In order to even be able to gain the background required to bring a sensible approach for the non-commercial applications to the table, we first need to starve a number of the bigger industries out of existence. If Warner and Sony went down, the rest of them would no doubt start seeing an urgent need to trim sails and survive by adopting a business model which worked.
    
    I don’t see Sony dropping just yet despite the massive impopularity it’s garnered over the PS3-hack or the rootkit. And so we will just have to remain in the trenches and realize that even the extremist pirates who do not invest any money in media by their actions fulfill a vital role in the war.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Which is more or less the sensible approach.
    
    Unfortunately, the industry is stuck in a different paradigm. And they will keep right on being stuck in that paradigm for as long as their legal departments and marketing teams can convince sales that it’s a justifiable business approach.
    
    A corporation in the end will only listen to the gross margin and profit line. That’s more or less it’s business. The only thing which will make a corporation back down from a perceived business model which should in theory net a 900% GM will be the threat of legal implications or direct bankruptcy.
    
    And that’s where the use of the pirate extremists come in. In order to even be able to gain the background required to bring a sensible approach for the non-commercial applications to the table, we first need to starve a number of the bigger industries out of existence. If Warner and Sony went down, the rest of them would no doubt start seeing an urgent need to trim sails and survive by adopting a business model which worked.
    
    I don’t see Sony dropping just yet despite the massive impopularity it’s garnered over the PS3-hack or the rootkit. And so we will just have to remain in the trenches and realize that even the extremist pirates who do not invest any money in media by their actions fulfill a vital role in the war.
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Bulkzooi

data sharing can’t be stopped, period. In the end, p2p and mesh networks will make sure this won’t happen. If this will become general accepted as true and the fact that human intersts (sharing of knowledge) are more important than property rights like copyright, the discussion will shift towards protecting copyright holders instead of protecting a business model.
- CanadianISPCustomer
  
  Data sharing can certainly be throtled, if you consider that many ISPs, Rogers, Bell, Telus, also like to sell services (Telephone, Video on Demand, TV Programming) that are also available as internet downloads, legally or illegally…
  
  So all they need to do is limit your bandwidth or make it more expensive. Things are already moving in that direction of you ask me. It’s been a recent news item here in Canada that ISPs are moving to having strict download caps and excessive overage charges if you go over your cap. Netflix is (and should be worried), there business model will break…
  
  The trouble is that there’s no competition between ISPs, you only have one or two to choose from and they are both the same (if you are even luck to have a choice). And since ISPs really want to move into charging you for specialized content / services and don’t like competition, its really not in their best interest to give you a good internet connection.
  
  So yes, you can set up P2P or mesh networks, but you’ll still have to buy your bandwidth…
  
  So, I am worried at the direction this is moving in. I’m really not so sure that “Sharing can’t be stopped”. Too many big corps and all have a stake in making internet less good for its user.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    But there are too many options to reduce or circumvent the concept of throttling.
    Throttling in itself can easily be defeated by the simple use of an encrypted VPN.
    
    Data caps? Well, here’s where the market is your friend. The overhead generated by running a data cap and an unlimited connection is just about the same. Given this fact do you suppose there would be venture capital available in a business where you can state that every competitor has padlocked themselves to a noncompetitive price points and terms of service?
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    But there are too many options to reduce or circumvent the concept of throttling.
    Throttling in itself can easily be defeated by the simple use of an encrypted VPN.
    
    Data caps? Well, here’s where the market is your friend. The overhead generated by running a data cap and an unlimited connection is just about the same. Given this fact do you suppose there would be venture capital available in a business where you can state that every competitor has padlocked themselves to a noncompetitive price points and terms of service?
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    But there are too many options to reduce or circumvent the concept of throttling.
    Throttling in itself can easily be defeated by the simple use of an encrypted VPN.
    
    Data caps? Well, here’s where the market is your friend. The overhead generated by running a data cap and an unlimited connection is just about the same. Given this fact do you suppose there would be venture capital available in a business where you can state that every competitor has padlocked themselves to a noncompetitive price points and terms of service?
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Anonymous

Or, we all switch to one world language. And no i do not care what language it should be.
Startrekken1

I like this article and its true as long as the industry have declared full blown war against all filesheares it´ll be war without ending ohh you want to monitor and capture me if i use a torrent program well good luck with that current my IP is hidden behind 7 or more proxies and by the time you crack those 7 more stand ready to take its place.

And the more single moms and student you capture and force to pay billions upon billions in compensation the more people will follow us.

Same on this side of the fence if we continue to just download and never EVER unless we have no choice and is forced to either buy a game comic movie or something like that or watch tv.
Well then there really won´t be any money to be earned for the movie music game and comic industry and they really will have to shut down as a result of that.

The solution as rightfully said is somewhere in the middle.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_TTQRXBVIYVQAEXPBNGBXV5VAOQ Sean

Great article TF!
Anonymous

DO WANT:

- High quality music downloads in various formats (FLAC, Ogg, MP3, etc.)
- High quality movie/TV series downloads in various formats (XviD, H.264, WebM, etc.), preferably NOT released 2-36 months after the premiere in the country of origin.
- Physical copies of the aforementioned (for archival purposes or just for “the feel”).

DO NOT WANT:

- Obstructive DRM that prevents me from making copies of the products I paid for.
- (Unskippable) advertisements (“You wouldn’t download a car”).
- girgle
  
  Just rip CDs.And where do you live that it would take that long?.
  - Anonymous
    
    Order a CD from the ‘net, wait 3 days for it to arrive. CD contains 20 songs, of which only one is really wanted. Rip the song. Listen to the song.
    
    Estimated time: 3 days
    Cost: 20 €
    
    ……
    
    Go to an online music store, browse the catalog for the desired song, add to cart. Pay and download instantly. Listen to the song.
    
    Estimated time: 3 minutes
    Cost: 1-2 €
- 5318008
  
  “You wouldn’t download a car.”
  
  CHALLENGE ACCEPTED
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Actually i wouldn’t. But if i had a factory capable of churning out whatever i needed, i’d certainly download the blueprints.
    
    Oh, wait, i have such a factory regarding information. It’s called a “computer”.
    
    This is why the concept of “Intellectual Property” fails on so many levels…
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Actually i wouldn’t. But if i had a factory capable of churning out whatever i needed, i’d certainly download the blueprints.
    
    Oh, wait, i have such a factory regarding information. It’s called a “computer”.
    
    This is why the concept of “Intellectual Property” fails on so many levels…
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Actually i wouldn’t. But if i had a factory capable of churning out whatever i needed, i’d certainly download the blueprints.
    
    Oh, wait, i have such a factory regarding information. It’s called a “computer”.
    
    This is why the concept of “Intellectual Property” fails on so many levels…
    - Scoobydoobie
      
      Joke appreciation fail.
Momo

I agree with your thoughts, enigmax, but I usually go a step further. Perhaps I’m an extremist, however I don’t usually see myself as such.

The goals of the two sides in this war, while certainly mutually exclusive, are not complete opposites. Even though reduced or lack of copy monopoly would not imply the death of the arts (as history can tell us), draconian copyright will certainly mean the death of privacy and free speech on the internet. No copyright *may* negatively affect the lives of industry-people (a tiny percentage of the population), but the sacrifice of basic rights will affect absolutely everyone.

Clearly, it’s not a fair tradeoff. If the industry-people were not so blinded by their greed they would realize what they are wishing for: they are asking for complete government control over everyone’s lives for enforcement of a system that allows the commodification of a luxury product. That’s simply unacceptable.

The questions I pose to you are the following. Is copyright compatible with the internet, even a little? Is a government mandate not to copy files a reasonable and workable thing to have? If everyone can have a copy of every book ever written, is there more social benefit in stopping people from making copies? Does copyright work at all in promoting the creation of better quality art?

Those questions are very hard to answer, which is why the copyright wars have been reduced to a lobbying (*ahem*political corruption*ahem*) game. In my view, copyright is an abomination and it’s endangering the internet, which I hold much dearer to my heart than any movie or song — that probably means I’ve chosen the side I’m on. Thankfully, most economists I’ve read who don’t just take intellectual property for granted have also sided with the “pirates”.

I’ll close this rant with a random piece of wisdom I thought up, which I may have said before. “If you have intellectual property, you also create intellectual poverty.” With computers and the internet everyone can be intellectually rich — copyright is the only thing that prevents that!
- girgle
  
  Of course you don’t see yourself as such.Crazy people don’t know they’re crazy, that’s the point.
  
  You want no copyright?.All I can say is I hope you enjoy youtube videos and flash games.
  - Momo
    
    How typical!! If you have no arguments besides “if there’s no copyright, the world will come to an end” you call the other person “crazy”, or “pirate”, or “freetard”.
    
    You are a caricature of what you are here to represent.
  - This
    
    or i dont know linux?
    god forbid we get free open source pioneer one type tv????
  - This
    
    or i dont know linux?
    god forbid we get free open source pioneer one type tv????
  - This
    
    or i dont know linux?
    god forbid we get free open source pioneer one type tv????
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Ah. So the reason the entire open source community works and that 99% of the created culture we all enjoy which was created during the last few centuries is that there was a fully functional copyright law in place globally? Damn, the gems of starry wisdom you get handed by illiterate clueless trolls online…
    
    You, sir, are a retard.
    99% of everything ever created has been created WITHOUT the benefits of copyright law.
    
    And that includes software. Next.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Ah. So the reason the entire open source community works and that 99% of the created culture we all enjoy which was created during the last few centuries is that there was a fully functional copyright law in place globally? Damn, the gems of starry wisdom you get handed by illiterate clueless trolls online…
    
    You, sir, are a retard.
    99% of everything ever created has been created WITHOUT the benefits of copyright law.
    
    And that includes software. Next.
  - Scary Devil Monastery
    
    Ah. So the reason the entire open source community works and that 99% of the created culture we all enjoy which was created during the last few centuries is that there was a fully functional copyright law in place globally? Damn, the gems of starry wisdom you get handed by illiterate clueless trolls online…
    
    You, sir, are a retard.
    99% of everything ever created has been created WITHOUT the benefits of copyright law.
    
    And that includes software. Next.
Sub-human Scummy Parasite

I didn’t know it’s possible to not pay for the internet. I should really look into this cloned modem thing. Thanks.
BTW, any progress on nagravision 3?
http://disqus.com/ Rob8urcakes

The law of copywrong needs to be radically reformed and updated to properly reflect the modern World and our technical capabilities to share for no cash, no profit and no personal or other gain so that we truly be proud to call it ‘our law of copyright’.

This is reflected truthfully and very accurately in Andy’s (enigmax) article where he said, “It’s very difficult to go about our daily business without infringing someone’s rights in today’s environment.”

I’ve already written to one of the UK government’s junior ministers on this topic and laid out my opinion, observations and requests for action. I urge you all to do similarly because, despite appearances, our politicians really don’t know everything and they rely on people like us to help them form a balanced opinion and solution to this thorny issue of rights and fairness.

Keep it simple and straight to the point. Just say the law needs changed to be more fair for filesharers and explain what a filesharer actually is. No threats, no abuse, and no lies are needed. That’s how we’ll eventually win this war. But until then, you should all expect more heavy casualties on both sides, and for a good few years too.
Hello

“If, however, you prefer the forces of darkness and intend to steal, thieve and defraud your way through the Internet, look no further than the opposing team. These scummy parasites contribute nothing, but instead munch their way through endless piles of media without a single thought for anyone but themselves. They never spend their money and are ruining the entertainment industries and the economy bit by bit, each and every time they connect to the Internet.”

This is an unfair spin on describing the other side. Why not just call the darkside filesharers. The MPAA/RIAA’s attack effects everyones rights when it comes to filesharing. We are going to see regulations on common network functions that take place everyday just to appease Hollywood and private interests. Its sad that they have the kind of movie they do and use it stain the internet with their campaigns.
Hello

edit^ movie=money
Guest

“Extremists on Both Sides Means Piracy War Goes On Forever”

Not forever. It will stop once the 7 main corporations of parasites die and that should be soon. Them it will stop.
Guest

‘It doesn’t take a genius to see that when the piracy ‘problem’ is defined like this, with good on one side and bad on the other, reaching a compromise is unlikely”

that is why we have to kill them all. You don’t negotiate with terrorists. The entertainment corporasites are no exceptions.
Predator

“and then responded with surprise when I revealed how much I spent on all sorts of media and entertainment in the previous 12 months.”

You are an Has-hole and a moron combined!

With a strong boycott the war would have stopped in less than six month. but no! Some idiots like you continue to by their idiotic shits for brain damaged and brain washed farts so it is a slow death instead.

The net result is that the entertainment industry is still infested with criminals and parasites and as long as there is few survivors it is not possible to rebuild the industry otherwise the infection will expend again.

Who are the victims? The artists you idiot!

BOYCOTT THE RIAA/MPAA!

NO MOVIE, NO DVD NO CD NO CONCERT. NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING!

Let’s kill them all!
Ninja

wow man, this article is pure quality! and truth. In the end if we analyze the situation carefully the middle men are the real villains. And the good guys for the ones they pay. They need to evolve and stop being just the middle. I believe file sharing and their revenues can coexist quite peacefully as you said, all it takes is some sanity and proper reasoning..
Dgf

Bush said:
Peace is War. War is peace.
Jesus

I do believe there can be a successful business model where file sharing and buying media co-exist. It won’t be all that different than how things run now, except those copyright enforcers wouldn’t be so fucking retarded, and won’t have the kind of legal authority and money-dick they have now. A model where people are free to sample what they want, and if they like it enough, if they can afford a proper purchasable version of it (which will no longer be absurdly priced and crippled with DRM), they’ll go for it, and the bulk of that money will go to the people responsible for producing the media. The writers, artists, musicians, producers. People from poor countries, people with little means to purchase, people who don’t want to purchase, can still access things and not worry about the law knocking on that door.

Basically, there would then be no need for VPNs. Yar!
- Scary Devil Monastery
  
  There will always be a need for VPN.
  
  Internet traveler without a VPN is like a man walking down the street stark naked with his home adress tattooed in large letters across his back.
- Scary Devil Monastery
  
  There will always be a need for VPN.
  
  Internet traveler without a VPN is like a man walking down the street stark naked with his home adress tattooed in large letters across his back.
- Scary Devil Monastery
  
  There will always be a need for VPN.
  
  Internet traveler without a VPN is like a man walking down the street stark naked with his home adress tattooed in large letters across his back.
Demfan

A very balanced article!
iyotbihagay

Totally agree with the thoughts however we have to accept nowadays that no one will accept in a monopoly idea of governing peoples freedom… Its just like zero divided by 100 and the answer is always can not be… No matter how hard we try to build peace when someone’s else’s feet is over with another there will always be uprising.

What we are today or what we become today is the art of how we decide yesterday. Its simply piracy is the result of selfish desire and unavailability of source. Another factor is that the source is available but don’t have the capacity to buy. To make the story short when there is poverty there is always a robin hood on the other side to provide.
None

Preaching to the choir.
http://www.louigiverona.ru Louigi Verona

To be honest, while I agree on a superficial level, I think that saying that the time of “show business”, which was short anyway, is over, is not extreme but realistic. When laundry machines were invented, the end of the Big Laundry Business could also be looked at as an “extremist view”, but it was not, it was realistic.

In my opinion, battles will end when decentralized Internet paves its way into everyday lives. And it is coming, just look at projects like Diaspora or decentralized P2P, which, obviously, is just in its infant stage.
http://www.ilovethewalkingdead.com Merle Dixon

Hear Hear!
From Alice Cooper to The Walking Dead there is a middle ground.
Lux Occulta

I pirate because Amazon and iTunes won’t allow me to legally purchase items from their website (I live in South Africa)

Secondly, the retail stores cater for the main stream population, which means very little aside from God awful RnB and hip hop.
Anonymous

this is the problem i have. i support TPB, but do not support piracy. i seem to be one of the few TPB supporters that are not extremists
Anonymous

this is the problem i have. i support TPB, but do not support piracy. i seem to be one of the few TPB supporters that are not extremists
Anonymous

this is the problem i have. i support TPB, but do not support piracy. i seem to be one of the few TPB supporters that are not extremists
This

no concert going
no theatre going
no dvdr sales
no cdr sales

do not buy sony hard ware or any that are associated like them.
DO NOT buy pizza pizza as they are dealers of pizza in theatres….
DO look at whom supports them and there system do not patronize and you remove more finances.

SEE what cars are in the shows, DO NOT BUY THOSE.
get the idea …..
This

no concert going
no theatre going
no dvdr sales
no cdr sales

do not buy sony hard ware or any that are associated like them.
DO NOT buy pizza pizza as they are dealers of pizza in theatres….
DO look at whom supports them and there system do not patronize and you remove more finances.

SEE what cars are in the shows, DO NOT BUY THOSE.
get the idea …..
Dondilly

While Ive downloaded any number of back catalogue movies. I think the last ‘new’ movie was Star Trek’ which I also purchased when released.It could be argued I should have gone to the cinema, but being disabled that might as well be a round trip to the moon the amount of planning and effort it would take.

Other than that I grab TV shows, mainly documentaries off P2P, not just due to being missed or from other countries but due to the fact that I dont have a dvd recorder and difficult to offline recordings from my PVR. Many of the docus I download are off Nat geo/discovery/history chan which I have in my satellite package anyway.

Many of the back catalogue movies are ones I already own on prerecorded video and refuse to buy again,yet some stuff they try and sell you the same film 3 or 4 times over, vhs/dvd/bluray/4:3/widscreen/uncut/directors cut/collectors edition etc.

With software, you buy the license to use the software, Often if your system doesnt support the media provided or gets corrupted you can contact the publishers/developers and for a small handling charge obtain replacement media. Not so with audiovisual works.
Dondilly

While Ive downloaded any number of back catalogue movies. I think the last ‘new’ movie was Star Trek’ which I also purchased when released.It could be argued I should have gone to the cinema, but being disabled that might as well be a round trip to the moon the amount of planning and effort it would take.

Other than that I grab TV shows, mainly documentaries off P2P, not just due to being missed or from other countries but due to the fact that I dont have a dvd recorder and difficult to offline recordings from my PVR. Many of the docus I download are off Nat geo/discovery/history chan which I have in my satellite package anyway.

Many of the back catalogue movies are ones I already own on prerecorded video and refuse to buy again,yet some stuff they try and sell you the same film 3 or 4 times over, vhs/dvd/bluray/4:3/widscreen/uncut/directors cut/collectors edition etc.

With software, you buy the license to use the software, Often if your system doesnt support the media provided or gets corrupted you can contact the publishers/developers and for a small handling charge obtain replacement media. Not so with audiovisual works.
Dondilly

While Ive downloaded any number of back catalogue movies. I think the last ‘new’ movie was Star Trek’ which I also purchased when released.It could be argued I should have gone to the cinema, but being disabled that might as well be a round trip to the moon the amount of planning and effort it would take.

Other than that I grab TV shows, mainly documentaries off P2P, not just due to being missed or from other countries but due to the fact that I dont have a dvd recorder and difficult to offline recordings from my PVR. Many of the docus I download are off Nat geo/discovery/history chan which I have in my satellite package anyway.

Many of the back catalogue movies are ones I already own on prerecorded video and refuse to buy again,yet some stuff they try and sell you the same film 3 or 4 times over, vhs/dvd/bluray/4:3/widscreen/uncut/directors cut/collectors edition etc.

With software, you buy the license to use the software, Often if your system doesnt support the media provided or gets corrupted you can contact the publishers/developers and for a small handling charge obtain replacement media. Not so with audiovisual works.
Fanny

Personally, I don’t care if the entertainment industry dies completely tomorrow. I don’t mind if there is never any more music, movies or TV programs. There are enough already. I used to pay for entertainment in the 1990s, now I know that I will never pay for any again.
Fanny

Personally, I don’t care if the entertainment industry dies completely tomorrow. I don’t mind if there is never any more music, movies or TV programs. There are enough already. I used to pay for entertainment in the 1990s, now I know that I will never pay for any again.
Fanny

Personally, I don’t care if the entertainment industry dies completely tomorrow. I don’t mind if there is never any more music, movies or TV programs. There are enough already. I used to pay for entertainment in the 1990s, now I know that I will never pay for any again.
ben

I think the problem stems from the monetary system itself. If it didn’t exist, artists could perform because they enjoyed doing so, not to enrich themselves. Money itself distracts from the things that people enjoying doing. As children, we didn’t play to earn money, and so the pleasure of the act itself was reward enough.
ben

I think the problem stems from the monetary system itself. If it didn’t exist, artists could perform because they enjoyed doing so, not to enrich themselves. Money itself distracts from the things that people enjoying doing. As children, we didn’t play to earn money, and so the pleasure of the act itself was reward enough.
- Common Man
  
  Well said. Reminds me of the Zeitgeist movement.
- Common Man
  
  Well said. Reminds me of the Zeitgeist movement.
- Common Man
  
  Well said. Reminds me of the Zeitgeist movement.
ben

I think the problem stems from the monetary system itself. If it didn’t exist, artists could perform because they enjoyed doing so, not to enrich themselves. Money itself distracts from the things that people enjoying doing. As children, we didn’t play to earn money, and so the pleasure of the act itself was reward enough.
Devanite

Everything will be fine in these negotiations… as long as you admit you are wrong!
Devanite

Everything will be fine in these negotiations… as long as you admit you are wrong!
Devanite

Everything will be fine in these negotiations… as long as you admit you are wrong!
lolz

War on piracy could end, not piracy itself.t
lolz

War on piracy could end, not piracy itself.t
lolz

War on piracy could end, not piracy itself.t
Junkdog

you r keeping other employed those who produce the disks without them there would be little pirated media so what do want two lot of peeps employed or just one the film and music producers or the dvd /cd manfactureres
Junkdog

you r keeping other employed those who produce the disks without them there would be little pirated media so what do want two lot of peeps employed or just one the film and music producers or the dvd /cd manfactureres
Junkdog

you r keeping other employed those who produce the disks without them there would be little pirated media so what do want two lot of peeps employed or just one the film and music producers or the dvd /cd manfactureres
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https://thepiratebay.org/user/man-o-tor/ manOtor

Thank you Enigmax for the good read!

And I am very happy to see some comments inbetween that confirm what I knew all along:
This “war” will just vanish with the advancement and expansion of technology.
This “war” will loose it’s battlefield rather sooner than later.
Fuck You

This is what I dont get, if the recording studios and film companies are making millions/billions of dollars, whats losing a couple mil gonna do? They act like they spend it all and need it constantly.

Please, go fuck yourself you snobby bastards
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Extremists on Both Sides Means Piracy War Goes On Forever

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