We can lecture about the immorality and consequences of
piracy for days. Most people will take notice, maybe hold back on illegally
downloading for a while, and then partake in the mindless activity once again.
So, why is it so easy for Internet users to continue this cycle? Because there is
little to no reprimand for doing so. Due to its high volume, piracy is
difficult to find fault and, in turn, be penalized for.
Rather than focus just on the individual consequences of
online piracy, it is important to consider the repercussions for those large,
well-known sites that give us the
content in the first place…note the word- give.
Piracy sites such as music hubs and online movie streaming sites essentially
“steal” from artists and actors and make it readily available to the public at
no cost. It sounds great for the average at-home person. However, these sites
are knowingly aiding in the loss of millions of dollars to the rightful owners.
An article in the Washington
Times puts this method of “mass piracy” into perspective. A site called Megaupload.com
was formerly one of the world’s biggest file-sharing empires. The company
was based out of Hong Kong, while the founder was living in New Zealand. The
United States became involved after the discovery of company servers in
Virginia. U.S. prosecutors estimate that the sites costs over $500 million in
lost revenue for copyright holders. Needless to say, that is a huge number. Former CEO of Megaupload,
Kim Dotcom, was arrested along with others working for the company.
So how are large, well-known sites like these able to run
for so long? That is the million-dollar question. Prior to the site’s
termination it obtained endorsements from celebrities such as Alicia Keys and
Kanye West. For Megaupload, publicity was a huge key in the site’s success. The
article did not say exactly what incentive artists would have for promotion of
the site, but one can probably assume they weren’t just doing it for free.
It is already difficult to collect enough facts/evidence to
prosecute piracy sites within our own country. It becomes even more difficult
when these sites are located overseas, where our jurisdiction is restricted. Having
global servers allows companies, like Megaupload, to quite literally “spread”
their sources- and therefore, lower their chances of being personally
identified and penalized.
o
Below
is a link to the article for anyone interested.
o
A
court date for the Megaupload controversy is still pending.
Work Cited
Barakat,
Matthew. US Internet piracy case brings
New Zealand arrests. The Washington Times. 20 January, 2012. Web. 7
October, 2013.
I think piracy is a very difficult problem to control. I've read articles and blogs about how video games, music and even private documents can be downloaded without even having to open up an account. This problem is more significant in countries where copyright and intellectual property laws are not enforced as they are enforced here in the U.S. I think global cooperation is the first step to eradicate this illegal practice.
ReplyDeleteIt used to be so easy to illegally download music and articles from the internet. I am glad that they have been able to implement an effective plan to control this outbreak. It is good to see that artist will no longer be ripped off of their music for much longer. Enjoyed your article!
ReplyDeleteMiguel- You're absolutely right. And that's one of the biggest obstacles in moving towards piracy prevention. The reality is, a LOT of these websites are owned & operated outside of the US. So inevitably, we have little to no control of what's being streamed.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin- Thank you! And I definitely think piracy has been suppressed, but not completely eradicated. Today, I would say that the illegal streaming of movies and TV shows is more of an issue than music downloads. Sites such as Pandora, Spotify, and iTunes Radio likely helped lessen the blow to the music industry.
Anyone else notice the name of MegaUpload's founder? Kim DOTCOM?
ReplyDeleteI did some research and found that he legally had his last name changed. Devotion... Or obsession?
Privacy is definitely an issue today for the US, due to the internet and easy of access. The US tries to combat piracy by shutting down cites that permit illegal downloads, but what about access to cites from other countries? IP regulations may be less strict in one country, so how can another country, like the US, monitor it? I read a little about the Special 301 law which is an amendment to the Trade Act of 1974. It identifies trade barriers to include IP, does this mean under free trade laws the US is not allowed to ban illegal download cites from other countries? It would be interesting to learn about the laws and regulations surrounding piracy abroad.
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Sara. The US is cracking down on illegal downloads within our country. However, we have little-to-no jurisdiction in other countries. That's what makes the complete elimination of piracy difficult - even impossible.
ReplyDeleteIf they find hubs or servers within the US that may be supporting these sites (like Megaupload), then they can shut those down. However, majority of these huge pirating companies are located overseas...
I agree that illegal streaming of movies and tv shows is more of an issue than the illegal downloads of music today. I don’t know of too many sites that allow you to download music illegally. But the ones I do know of, downloading music is really complicated. As far as tv shows and movies, we don’t necessarily need to download them. There are many sites that allow you to just watch a program. I really get a headache for the people who have to try and regulate this issue. I cannot imagine how complicated it must be to try and shut down an illegal site within the US, much less overseas.
ReplyDeleteCaroline you are correct it has definitely shifted more towards movies and TV shows nowadays instead of music. I know that we have Netflix however in my opinion it doesn't have the greatest selection for my taste but they seem to be working on it but I know of this site called VUDU and they give you I believe a $5 credit and 10 preselected movies just for signing up and they have movies and practically every TV show you do have to pay for them but they are relatively cheap and if a new season is getting ready to start then they'll put all the previous seasons on sale which is pretty nice. It is hard for the legislation to get a handle on this because when you think about it the second they get one shut down another one will surely pop up soon and with not really having a handle on the overseas issue unless we work together it will probably continue to be very hard to control.
ReplyDelete