Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
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.
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However, it's not clear how the "anti-piracy" measures being discussed would help you. They don't seem to prevent piracy or even discourage it; instead, they focus on finding a few high-profile targets for media campaigns about "the evils of piracy"*, and enacting measures that disproportionately harm people with limited resources to fight false claims.
There's plenty of cases of DMCA abuse right now, especially in politics, where politicians file DMCA notices against blogs that quote them and critique their words. Filing a false DMCA report is illegal... but enforcement is very limited, and most bloggers don't have the resources. The new measures proposed will be even easier to use to silent dissent and critique instead of fighting actual piracy.
I don't see how any of the newer measures would help you, or other individuals like you, who are harmed by piracy. Can you file a claim that will get a torrent site blocked because it carries your software? Can you remove internet access from a household that's downloaded it without paying? Or do you expect that, if Disney manages to block a household that's downloading its movies, that will also prevent the household from downloading your software and that'll be enough protection?
(Honestly curious. I don't see anything in the newer "fight piracy" law proposals that helps individual authors and artists protect their rights any better than the current system.)
* Is there notably less illegal downloading going on now that MegaUpload is gone? Will entertainment industry profits rise in the next quarter because of its absence?