[stonetools]

Theargument posted by the OP is the standard piracy argument . It has been rejected by virtually all the major players in the debate and has been debunked elsewhere but tends to be repeated and cheer-leaded here as if it were some how the gospel truth. Lets break the argument down and take a critical look , hat tip to the author of COPYHYPE:

PIRACY CAUSES NO HARM

Refuted thusly:

One notable contribution is economist Stan Liebowitz’s study The Metric is the Message: How Much of the Decline in Sound Recording Sales is Due to File-Sharing? released in November 2011. In it, Liebowitz translates the conclusions of existing studies on the effects of unauthorized downloads on recorded music sales into a common metric to answer the question posed in his title.

His conclusion is stunning: “file-sharing has caused the entire decline in sound recording sales that has occurred since the ascendance of Napster.”

Looking at the available evidence, one thing is clear. It is a fact that there are multiple academic studies that show a significant negative effect on music sales caused by unauthorized downloading, and this conclusion has been reached by a significant majority of researchers. Coulton is not alone in being unaware of these findings — you don’t have to look far to find those who don’t know about the existence of these studies.

But there they are.

Note that the article referenced in the OP cites no study for his contention that piracy causes little or no harm . Such studies exist , perhaps- but the article doesn't cite them.

LAW ENFORCEMENT DOES NOT WORK

Of course, the Megaupload case case is Exhibit A for the proposition that law enforcement DOES work, given the proper tools, resources, and legal framework. Once a law is in place that allows governments and plaintiffs to go after foreign websites, we will see more like that . More from Copyhype:

Other researchers have found evidence that enforcement has led to increases in legal purchases of music.

In a paper released last week, Dr. George Barker of Australian National University analyzed the data from a 2006 Industry Canada survey to conclude that “P2P downloads have strong negative effects on legitimate music purchases” and “stronger copyright laws would substantially increase music purchases and music industry sales revenues.”

These findings are confirmed by another recent study by four economists from Wellesley College and Carnegie Mellon University, which determined that France’s graduated response program (Hadopi) caused “iTunes song and album sales to increase by 22.5% and 25% respectively relative to” countries in a control group that hadn’t enacted graduated response programs.

piracy is only a business model problem, or a marketing problem, and enforcement should play zero role.

Copyhype's response:

This puts copyright at odds with most other issues. Take driving, for example: we prefer to minimize the harm that comes from accidents. To that end, we build safer cars, we have driver education, but we also have traffic laws and cops to enforce those laws.

Amen. Its not one or the other, but a both AND approach to piracy . Its Law Enforcement AND better customer service AND a great business model . Why has iTunes flourished? In part its because it was first launched in the USA, where Napster and other popular US file sharing sites had been closed down or were under legal attack. Where is the Swedish version of iTunes? There is none, and will never be as long as Pirate Bay exists.


So there you have it: a complete and compelling response to the Standard Piracy Argument . Hopefully, this will add to the debate .