Film Piracy: Is It Theft?

[chrisclick]

Film piracy: Is it theft?

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41987000/jpg/_41987732_piracy_fight203.jpg
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http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gifWeb exclusive: Extended film piracy debate (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/3681938.stm)

While cinemas are working to deliver us a better movie going experience, quite a few of us seem to be perfectly happy watching dodgy copies of movies downloaded on our PCs.
Clever file-sharing technologies like BitTorrent have allowed online movie sharing to flourish.
It is thought that half a million films are traded every day in the darkest cloisters of the net, the so-called darknet.
The perpetrators are the new, net savvy generation who laugh in the faces of those who say copyright is theft.
Often they are simply bent on getting something for nothing, but some get off on the thrill of metaphorically slapping the Hollywood suits down in the way they did the music industry behemoths.
Fighting back
Hollywood is clearly unhappy, and in amongst the public education campaigns, it has been sharpening its knives and wheeling out its even sharper legal eagles.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41987000/jpg/_41987522_piracy203.jpg Hollywood is losing billions of dollars a year to piracy




In practice that has meant action against everyone from movie sharing individuals, BitTorrent search engines, the Internet service providers hosting them, and anyone else who is deemed to be threatening their profits.
But could there ever be peace between Hollywood and the hackers?
We tracked down the two most powerful voices on either side of the divide and asked them about their own philosophies, and what they thought of their opponent.
In the blue corner: Dan Glickman, President of the Motion Picture Association of America, the body that wields the collective political and legal muscle of the Hollywood studios.
In the red corner: John Perry Barlow, lyricist in the US band The Grateful Dead. More pertinently, he went on to co-found the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the pressure group that's placed itself centre-stage in the fight to keep the digital copyright cops at bay.





Whats your verdict? Is it theft?


(The part was quoted here because BBC do not hold the infomation after a sertin date)


Chris::..

[Cello]

Absolutely theft - no doubt about it.

<rant>
Although a pet hate of mine is that I buy a dvd movie from Virgin or the like and then take it home to watch. It is always a legit copy from a legit retailer. HOWEVER - there is always the 'piracy is theft' video that I am forced to watch as it is programmed to be 'unskipable'. Why put this on a legit dvd - I am not a guilty party! Why should my viewing be affected by something I don't get involved with?

</rant> :)

It is theft as piracy is technical robbery of income which the studios need to make a profit to make more movies. It is profiteering - the money the pirates raise from piracy does not go back into the movie industry...

[chrisclick]

thank you... I also agree with your rant...

[evildrummer]

It is theft BUT I do not see a problem with buying it then saving it to your computer or memory stick or other medium of YOURS, which they say you arent allowed to do.

[fattony]

If hollywood would make better movies people wouldn't want to watch these movies for free...

Honestly me, I watch a movie at the theatre then dload it to watch it again, then buy the DVD when it comes out if the movie was worth it. If it sucks I don't bother dloading it or even going to the movies, they have tried cracking down on it forever but what they need to realize is that people are watching these movies and will pay money to see them in high quality if, "IF" they are worth the money.