Save the Internet ... before its to late!
-
Most of SketchUcation's advertisers are negatively effected by piracy -- some will be eventually driven out of business by it.
That directly impacts everyone who uses this place for "free speech" without paying for the service... so you cannot have it both ways -- there's no such thing as an endless free ride.
If you'd like to see how rampant piracy is simply do a search on my name. Over half of the top 50 results will be links to pirated versions of my tutorial video series... every person who pirates my videos takes me one step closer to being unemployed.
Best,
Jason. -
The measure for lowing the piracy is not censor. Indeed is not a simple problem, but the solution must be one adequate. Behind websites and cracked software are real human beings ! Those should be punished for their actions.
-
This thread is going into the electronic piracy direction.
I doubt online piracy is making many people unemployed.Though I'm not saying it doesn't have an impact. It's an old argument that seems to make sense to me; most people who get pirated stuff online either won't or can't buy those products, so they weren't really potential buyers. Thus the people making the product didn't lose any money but gained notoriety. I think if you play your cards right you can make piracy work for you and win more than you lose. I don't see many big game companies or film studios going out of business despite the piracy. In fact they make tens of millions of dollars if not hundreds of millions on a regular basis.
To be clear this is not about making money with said pirated products but only the case for personal use.The internet has a more complex impact on the global level than people think. Laws like this are products of short minded politicians and corporations who don't know how to exploit a new technology/phenomenon.
-
I'd love to hear some current SketchUcation advertisers weigh in on your POV.
I'm not one to rail against piracy, but to deny it has any impact is pretty naive (to say the least).
Just think of all the development resources that are wasted trying to prevent piracy -- if those same resources were devoted to making the software better then all users would be better off.
Also the economics of scale say that if more people actually purchased then everybody could pay less.
So right off the top you have higher prices and less new features for paying customers as a result of piracy.
Best,
Jason. -
I have to agree with Jason. We've struggled with pirated content ever since we opened...even though, as a subscription service we don't suffer the wholesale pillaging of CD/DVD content that retail companies like Dosch or Archmodels (or Jason) do.
We even got the same twisted logic from some idiot who decided to post a load of our content onto the 3D Warehouse. He thought he ought to be thanked for giving us publicity, completely ignoring the fact that we didn't need publicity if we couldn't sell our services at all...because some moron was giving away all our content for free.
It's utterly naive to think that software companies thrive on piracy or even welcome it. They try to make the best of it, which is entirely different. Nor do most software companies make millions of dollars. Some game companies might as their products are generally under $50 and compare well in terms of entertainment hours per buck with, say, going to see a movie...so pirated copies, although numerically impressive, will form a fairly low ratio compared with actual sales. However most other companies really struggle; and some (like Fo2PIX, who made the best photoshop effects plugin I've ever seen...Buzz Pro) actually go bust.
-
Okay Jeff, I took your advise and read the entire Bill. I must admit, that after reading it, it looks reasonable and fair. Also that many of the outcries would appear to be unfounded! But is it the thin edge of the wedge as many feel?
Of course I also agree that the USA Lawmakers have the right and should make laws to protect its citizen and that the USA Courts should enact those laws. But, in this case I don't think its quite a simple and straightforward as that.
The USA is in a key position when if comes to the Net, after all the 'invented' it! I could see this law quite easily being used by entities that want to censor and use copyright infringement issues etc as a means to that end. The actual process lends itself to this, again its a deep pockets rule situation.
I think the only way out of this is for an international body of Internet providers to be set up. I think we could all agree that the vast majority of providers are law abiding entities? If so, I would prefer to place my trust in them, rather than the US Court system. Please do not get me wrong, I am not saying that the US Court system is in any way biased / unfair. Its just that money gains access more quickly than no money!
An International Body of Internet Providers, would I feel, be the appropriate governing entity to monitor, adjudicate and control Internet Providers. They could easily, after due process, have rouge sites taken down.
Of course, such a body could not be set up in the USA as I feel it would turn into something similar to the UN ..... but that's another story.
Maybe it should have an office in every Country in the World that is a member with no HQ! This would make it a more unbiased body in my opinion. It would be self governing and that is something that I do not fully trust but I don't see a better alternative.
-
@jason_maranto said:
but to deny it has any impact is pretty naive (to say the least).
I did not say that it doesn't have any impact,
@marian said:Though I'm not saying it doesn't have an impact.
I'm sure your point is a valid one.I do agree that piracy can and does affect businesses, but not all and not in the same way.
@alan fraser said:
It's utterly naive to think that software companies thrive on piracy or even welcome it.
I didn't say they thrive on it, but instead of trying to cover the Grand Canyon with a band aid I think their efforts would be better spent if they aknowledged they can't stop the pirating of their products and try to do something in order to benefit from it. I don't know what exactly but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
All I'm saying is that to completely stop piracy we would have to demolish the internet and its freedoms and instead of doing that businesses could use methods that bypass piracy. I don't think it's impossible it just hasn't been done before.
-
@marian said:
I didn't say they thrive on it, but instead of trying to cover the Grand Canyon with a band aid I think their efforts would be better spent if they aknowledged they can't stop the pirating of their products and try to do something in order to benefit from it. I don't know what exactly but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
If something could be done then the person who figured it out would be a billionaire instantly... with that many billions of dollars riding on piracy if something productive and useful could be done somebody would have by now.
@marian said:
All I'm saying is that to completely stop piracy we would have to demolish the internet and its freedoms and instead of doing that businesses could use methods that bypass piracy. I don't think it's impossible it just hasn't been done before.
If find it interesting that often the countries with the least political freedoms are the ones who most take advantage of the Internets "freedoms" to pirate... interesting correlation? just a coincidence?
Controlling/regulating the internet is something that is inevitable and has been ever since people starting making and losing money on it.
Best,
Jason. -
@jason_maranto said:
If find it interesting that often the countries with the least political freedoms are the ones who most take advantage of the Internets "freedoms" to pirate... interesting correlation? just a coincidence?
I do not think that would be the case. I rather think that it is more related to the financial situation of the general population. Believe me that (apart from the militant freeloaders), most of the people would rather be happy to afford copyrighted material than having to hassle with cracks and all the hazard it implements.
-
Mike, I think your idea for an international body to police the 'net and provide anti-piracy monitoring is a grand one. And, even though I'm a US citizen, I'd be as happy as corn flakes if the central headquarters for this organization were anywhere else but the US. I know how our political system is viewed at times, and I agree there is some substance to those views as well. Also, having locations in various countries is wise as it allows for legal prosecution (when needed) to proceed under local sovereign law and not some "mandate of the Americans".
[CAUTION: ANECDOTE AHEAD]
I was traveling down a major US highway a few months ago over in the eastern US and along side the road there was a billboard with a sign on it that said simply; "Pornography hurts everyone." Erected by a co-operative group of local congregations, it was no doubt in response to a business that was selling pornographic materials a bit further up the highway.I think of piracy like that. It hurts everyone, at all levels, from the guy burning the midnight oil writing software to the folks selling it legitimately on the 'net. Sure, we can point to Big Business and the evils thereof, but businesses are owned by stock and shareholders. Just regular folks and we expect a profit from our investments.
The online piracy problem is complex, and while I'd be the last person on earth to suggest that we need more legislation (I'm staunchly libertarian) or more laws to deal with the situation, it seems necessary. We had to establish laws to deal with pornography to protect citizens, we'll have to do the same with IP piracy too it seems ...
Cheers.
-
@gaieus said:
I do not think that would be the case. I rather think that it is more related to the financial situation of the general population. Believe me that (apart from the militant freeloaders), most of the people would rather be happy to afford copyrighted material than having to hassle with cracks and all the hazard it implements.
Oh, I definatly understand that -- I have often wondered if some of the viruses we see aren't made by companies to target the pirates... but maybe I'm paranoid
Don't get me wrong I pretty laid back about the whole thing... but I'm not oblivious to the realities of the situation.
I'm mostly just sad about the huge waste of human manpower in this pirating thing -- after all you have the companies continually investing in stronger licensing schemes to try to defeat the pirates and you have the crackers investing time and energy in breaking those schemes... if only all that time, energy, and expertise could instead be put into creating stuff we'd all be much better off.
But that's just my idealism talking -- in reality I know darker motivations win out over ideals most of the time.
Best,
Jason. -
You know what pisses me off is when pirates do not crack jut for the hack of it or because they think they are the moodern age Robin Hoods or even because they can simply not afford the copyrighted material but when they make huge (and read HUGE) money by reselling these cracked software in 3rd World countries.
We all know examples (even banned from here) like that. Now I agree that theyshould be shut down (and locked up).
-
@idahoj said:
Mike, I think your idea for an international body to police the 'net and provide anti-piracy monitoring is a grand one.
That's me! A man of 'Grand' ideas but no clue how to get them implemented at the scale that is required in order that they could be effective! On the other hand, isn't voicing such and idea and getting folks to also back it, a start.
This Bill will get through in some fashion, I have no doubt. It will probably have a few amendments tagged on before it does and I think that might be no harm. However, I am still nervous about the ways that it could be abused by the big wallet guys.
Maybe in time the Net providers, the genuine ones anyway, will see that it is in their interest to form into a consolidated international group and self monitor / regulate their industry in a democratic fashion. Until now they may not have seen the need or a good reason to do so but this Bill could change that, particularity if abuses creep in and I have no doubt they will.
Advertisement