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05-10-2012, 08:49 PM | #1 |
Are you gonna eat that?
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If You Think The Cost Of 'Piracy' Is High, What About The Cost Of Enforcement?
"We've all seen the crazy high claims by the legacy entertainment industry about the "costs" of infringement. Most of these reports have absolutely no basis in reality and have been widely debunked -- even by the US government itself. But, even if we grant that there are some "costs" to infringement, why is it that we rarely -- if ever -- hear about the costs of enforcement? Julian Sanchez has a great post riffing off of the news that Hulu is thinking of requiring proof of pay TV subscriptions to get any free content, and does a neat little thought exercise on how distorting the "cost of piracy" discussions are if you don't also look at the cost of enforcement.
What's amazing is that even when the costs are explicit, they barely enter the conversation. Take, for example, the predecessor to SOPA/PIPA: the ProIP Act, which passed in 2008. A report by the Congressional Budget Office showed that the cost of this bill, which is almost entirely focused on increased enforcement was $435 million. Yes, you read that right. Taxpayers have been on the hook for nearly half a billion dollars for the increased enforcement initiatives -- like the spectacular flop known as Operation In Our Sites. Is this really a wise use of taxpayer resources? Add to that, of course, the negative externalities created by such enforcement -- such as the chilling effects of increased censorship, expensive court cases and other such efforts, and it's kind of amazing that these costs never seem to even enter the public debate, even though many of them are a lot more real than the "costs" presented by the industry for "piracy."" http://www.techdirt.com/articles/201...orcement.shtml |
05-10-2012, 09:05 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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Yes, the pirates are costing tax payers a lot of money. But I wouldn't blame it on the copyrights holders, I would blame it on the pirates. Don't blame the victims. The problem is that the attitude "piracy is no big deal" is becoming quite common. Education is the key here. From the enforcement side going after TPB by blocking them and initiatives like the "3 strikes" in some countries are new ways of simplifying matters and keeping enforcement costs down.
But in the end, the important thing is that people again begin to realize that piracy is a crime, not some harmless prank. You can't make a simple cost-benefit analysis for fighting crime. If you did, you would decide to leave most criminals alone. Does it pay to go after a thief who stole $200 worth of items from a store? Of course, not. Part of fighting crime is prevention. Make people afraid they will get caught and have to pay often goes a long way. Last edited by HansTWN; 05-10-2012 at 09:13 PM. |
05-10-2012, 09:34 PM | #3 | |
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05-10-2012, 10:27 PM | #4 | |
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05-10-2012, 11:06 PM | #5 | |
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Take for instance Disney who continue to have a totally ludicrous vault system where they lock away movies for an unspecified period of time, artificially restricting the market. If you miss out on a movie when the vault is open, bad luck. They continuously bleat about how nefarious and evil piracy is, but do nothing to reduce it except bankrolling more copyright trolls and spending vast sums funding bought US senators in attempt to make the world change around them. |
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05-10-2012, 11:07 PM | #6 |
Wizard
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It occurs at the moment of downloading illegally. When you profit from it it is commercial piracy, a step up from casual piracy. Sort of the difference between a drug user and a dealer.
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05-11-2012, 01:11 AM | #7 | ||
Grand Master of Flowers
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But they still get blamed for piracy. |
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05-11-2012, 02:13 AM | #8 | |
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Blurays cost upwards of A$35 here in Australia for new releases. Top 10 CD albums cost over A$25. Last time I looked the USD was less in value that the AUD, yet CD's, DVD's and blurays are much cheaper overseas. No movie digital download available in Australia from Disney or other MPAA members either. The cost of seeing a movie at a cinema for a typical family of two adults and two children costs upwards of AU$75. Oh and yes iTunes works well, but prices of songs are still double what is paid in the US. |
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05-11-2012, 02:32 AM | #9 |
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I will go with my forté in life and state the obvious.
A Corporations lose money because of pirating. B Tax-payers always foot the bill for any law-enforcement. C Corporations run (or have major influence on) all western governments. D Corporations therefore pass the bill to the taxpayer by pressuring governments to pass restrictive laws or demanding the government increase spending to enforce their copyrights. E Regular joe six-pack consumers and taxpayers are screwed again. F All is normal. I do not endorse pirating, though I have been guilty of doing it myself once in a while. I have my own "code of conduct" for what I "pirate". It is not legal, but I think it is moral. |
05-11-2012, 02:54 AM | #10 | |
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Piracy hurts "ordinary people" and, given that most people do not have the resources to be able to take legal action to prevent it, we have to rely on governments to put laws in place to protect us. Last edited by HarryT; 05-11-2012 at 03:02 AM. |
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05-11-2012, 04:30 AM | #11 | |
Gnu
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Make the publishers pay for book piracy enforcement The movie studios pay for movie piracy. Car manufacturers for all traffic violations & upkeep of the roads House builders / Locksmiths / Glaziers for burglaries (Depends on method of entry) Shops for shoplifting Microsoft/Apple for all computer releated crime All these companies are already taxed and should be able to rely on law enforcement to, well, enforce laws. |
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05-11-2012, 05:07 AM | #12 |
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Piracy does hurt individual companys and their employees and right holders in some degree. I can agree on that.
But, this money isn't "lost". No it's spend in other sectors. No money is lost realy, it's just allocated and spend at some other place. It might be hard to say if it's beneficial or not. But certainly in general sense it isn't lost... |
05-11-2012, 05:22 AM | #13 | |
Wizard
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And if you use your line of reasoning, then theft of physical goods is actually great for the economy. Someone steals your e-reading device. He now doesn't need to spend money to buy one and can spend his money on other things. And you have to buy a new one. I see a win-win here! Last edited by HansTWN; 05-11-2012 at 05:24 AM. |
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05-11-2012, 05:24 AM | #14 | |
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05-11-2012, 05:31 AM | #15 | |
Illiterate newbie
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If someone downloads and copies your IP, you loss potential sale. Tax payers generaly won't lose anything, money is just spend in other ways. |
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