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Originally Posted by bhartman36
... That doesn't mean that copyright itself should die, though....
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This is not the argument people are making.
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Originally Posted by bhartman36
... People who do work deserve to get paid what the market will bear. If you don't want to buy it, don't.
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You got it right here. Except, that when too many are pirating a product, it would indicate that it is priced above market. If priced right, the majority of interested users will buy it - the "right price" will outweigh for the majority the cost of spending time scouring pirate sites, risking infections, and feeling guilty.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bhartman36
... It's one thing to argue for DRM-free content. ... But organizations like The Pirate Bay are antithetical to that goal, because they encourage (gleefully so, apparently) people to violate copyright and distribute works for free which should be paid for.
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With the advent of digital storage, the market has changed. Content providers have effectively used their influence and played the system, to attempt to increase profits above analogue levels (think of the prices of BluRay compared to DVD, or digital music and ebooks compared to their analog equivalents.)
One can argue, that groups like TPB act to level the market, where one side has a monopoly of sorts: if J.K. Rowling wishes to "gouge" the market, options like TPB would act to relieve the imbalance. If a Rowling ebook title is, say $7, I'd guess the majority in the developed world would rather pay, than expend the effort to "pirate."
So, in effect, without groups like TPB, the "powers that be," would have no incentive to refrain from gouging the market.