The idiocy of "Copyright Protection" and Piracy

Over the last few weeks, there has been a major uproar over the USA's attempt to introduce the Protect Intellectual Property Act [PIPA] and the Stop Online Piracy Act [SOPA]. Both these Acts are now practically dead due to the on-the-street and internet revolt that raged for days, culminating in thousands of large and small websites going "black" in protest. 


However, this is not the end of the entertainment industry's attempts to somehow block piracy, and moves are under way to introduce new legislation "accommodating the concerns of the public". 


The entertainment industry's claim is that millions of US jobs are at stake as well as millions of dollars worth of profits. Their argument is that sites like The Pirate Bay are simply siphoning off the profits that the entertainment industry could make by allowing people to download movies and music without paying. I personally have no dispute with the above claim. Yes, millions of profits are being lost by people downloading movies and songs free of charge. Yes, the flow-on effect is reduced jobs in the indirect industries like music stores, video stores etc. And yes, people do download movies and music for free from sites like The Pirate Bay. 


What I have an issue is on how short-sighted and ill-focused the entertainment industry and its supporters really are. 


The United States is not the world. As highlighted by Chris Hayes in the interview below [at 2min 13sec onwards], movies and music is readily available through sites like Hulu and Netflix for people to watch and listen. 




However, anyone outside the USA has problems accessing these services due to "copyright restrictions". In many countries, one can not buy or watch a movie online legally or buy it through the "normal" channels. 


 An example. Take Kylie Minogue and her song "All The Lovers". [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frv6FOt1BNI&feature=relmfu] 


If you are in Australia and attempt to watch the official video, you are confronted with the following message: "This video contains content from Vevo, who has blocked it in your country on copyright grounds. Sorry about that." 


Even her record company Parlophone have their Youtube channel blocked for viewing in this country. But you can search and view other songs from that company on Youtube. Logic? There isn't any. 


To make matters even worse for the entertainment industry, one can not only buy the CD and DVD which has that specific song on it here in Australia, but you can also go into any music store [eg Virgin Music] and watch the video clip free of charge, Logic? None! 


If the entertainment industry is serious about tackling piracy, then they need to look at their own industry and how it is set up. They need to address their business model and bring it into the 21st century. Apple and its iTunes store is a good example of how to make money through the selling of entertainment content. All the music industry labels are part of it, and Apple sells the songs worldwide. 


If Apple - with the support of the music industry - is able to do it, why then can not the entertainment industry as a whole do this? Why have they not set up online stores to allow people worldwide to legally download movies, TV shows and music at a reasonable price? 


Why not allow people to rent online a newly released movie worldwide? It can't be a matter of the technology not being there or the cost is too high. Apple does it already, as does Google Music and dozens of other sites. [Most, mind you, are only available in the USA due to "copyright restrictions", yet the entertainment industry's own subsidiaries distribute the same content within those countries overseas]. 


When you also add up how much money and time is being spent to pursue "pirates" through legal means, the cost of establishing and maintaining online stores becomes negligible. The entertainment industry needs to refocus its efforts, not on chasing and closing down "pirate" sites and "pirate" individuals, but rather on how to make their product more readily available worldwide so people don't go out and pirate it. For piracy isn't the issue here. Its the entertainment industry's lack of foresight and true business acumen, and their continual "living in the 50s" mentality.

About The Frondeskias Chronicles

Many of you know me from Google+ and have a fair idea of what I am about.

However, Google+ [and other social media] do have their limitations in terms of what one can post and the length of those posts. Social media is great for pictures, videos, links to sites and quick "headline" content wrapped up in a paragraph or two. But anything longer tends to put people off from reading and commenting.

So, The Frondeskias Chronicles will give you a chance of getting to know the deeper and more meaningful "me" - if you wish.

I won't guarantee I'll post daily or every few days, but will do my best to do so weekly on random stuff. After all, daily postings is for Google+, right? ;)