How piracy built the U.S. publishing industry

[SeaKing]

I love these kinds of comebacks: "So why are you complaining?"

How piracy built the U.S. publishing industry
by Greg Sandoval February 27, 2012 12:18 PM PST

"Americans were once enthusiastic pirates. The company that eventually became HarperCollins made a fortune pirating the work of Charles Dickens and other British authors.

For decades, the U.S. government turned a blind eye to the pirating of intellectual property--and the practice helped some of the country's largest book publishers make their fortunes.

"one of the most lucrative revenue streams for U.S. publishers during this period came from churning out unauthorized copies of British books before their rivals could. Authors didn't get a dime, say Burrows and Wallace. But don't feel too bad for the British publishers--they'd done exactly the same to French authors.""

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31001_3-57...?tag=cnetRiver

The kettles keep calling the pots black!

[Ninjalawyer]

This reminds me of a press release the Pirate Bay put out when SOPA was an impending threat; in the press release, the Pirate Bay declared itself the new Hollywood. Pirate Bay pointed out that because of Edison's patents for motion pictures, it was almost impossible to create movies on the East Coast, so studios relocated to California to circumvent the patents. Because copyright also favoured the public at that time, the studios were able to copy old stories and make movies out of them, making them what they are today.

I'm not commenting on whether I think Pirate Bay was making a good point or not, but their press release was pretty amusing.

IP infringement is a lot like porn, it always accompanies/drives new technologies and industries.

[Andrew H.]

I guess the US shouldn't complain about slave labor, either, since 150 years ago slavery was legal.

[xg4bx]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

This reminds me of a press release the Pirate Bay put out when SOPA was an impending threat; in the press release, the Pirate Bay declared itself the new Hollywood. Pirate Bay pointed out that because of Edison's patents for motion pictures, it was almost impossible to create movies on the East Coast, so studios relocated to California to circumvent the patents. Because copyright also favoured the public at that time, the studios were able to copy old stories and make movies out of them, making them what they are today.

I'm not commenting on whether I think Pirate Bay was making a good point or not, but their press release was pretty amusing.

IP infringement is a lot like porn, it always accompanies/drives new technologies and industries.

speaking of edison, he was a scumbag who routinely stole the ideas of others (including motion pictures) and screwed them out of their rightful rewards. not to mention his smear campaign against the infinitely superior tesla. and yet he's hailed as a hero of innovation.

marconi was credited with inventing radio but he also stole the idea from tesla.

almost every innovation we have was probably stolen from someone else's patents.

[cjr72]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

IP infringement is a lot like porn, it always accompanies/drives new technologies and industries.

This reminded me about an article I read in Wired magazine about the important role grey and black markets play around the world, especially in developing countries:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/tag/system-d/

In his new book, Stealth of Nations: The Global Rise of the Informal Economy, Neuwirth points out that small, illegal, off-the-books businesses collectively account for trillions of dollars in commerce and employ fully half the world’s workers. Further, he says, these enterprises are critical sources of entrepreneurialism, innovation, and self-reliance. And the globe’s gray and black markets have grown during the international recession, adding jobs, increasing sales, and improving the lives of hundreds of millions.

[Dopedangel]

This is the same thing China and other developing countries are doing to them now. It is quite well known that china turns a blind eye to copyright infringement by its companies etc.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

................... Because copyright also favoured the public at that time, the studios were able to copy old stories and make movies out of them, making them what they are today...............

As well as favouring the studios so they could make money ........ but also help create an art form.
But reading newsheets of the time, you wonder why they needed to nick stories !

And.........
....."one of the most lucrative revenue streams for U.S. publishers during this period came from churning out unauthorized copies of British books before their rivals could. Authors didn't get a dime, say Burrows and Wallace." ......

So that's how much you owe us ?

Ignoring, of course the calumny that our upright honest publishers of the day read the odd foreign language book in their leisure time ........

[Ekaros]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

As well as favouring the studios so they could make money ........ but also help create an art form.
But reading newsheets of the time, you wonder why they needed to nick stories !

And.........
....."one of the most lucrative revenue streams for U.S. publishers during this period came from churning out unauthorized copies of British books before their rivals could. Authors didn't get a dime, say Burrows and Wallace." ......

So that's how much you owe us ?

Ignoring, of course the calumny that our upright honest publishers of the day read the odd foreign language book in their leisure time ........

I would estimate somewhere along lines of 10 000$ USD per copy, you know they might have been shared later so lost revenue is massive ;D

[Ravensknight]

I just started reading a "new" copy of the Lord of the Rings by Tolkien.

It had a new introduction by some guy who went through all the different editions in the UK and the US since '52/53.
MANY of the early US editions were unauthorized. By large publishing companies.
And now they have the cajones to cry about pirates?

[sabredog]

It takes one to know one, oft times.

Hypocrisy seems to be a common thread linking the entertainment, music AND publishing industries.

[Blue Tyson]

Large media companies almost all the same in that respect.

[AlexBell]

Originally Posted by sabredog

It takes one to know one, oft times.

Hypocrisy seems to be a common thread linking the entertainment, music AND publishing industries.

I'm a little surprised that you left out the politics industry. I think they are the most hypocritical of all.

[sabredog]

well this is not about politics really. But I get your point

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Large media companies almost all the same in that respect.

I sincerely trust you ain't including that company run by that old (-er than me anyway) Australian gentleman ?
Sorry, re-phrase that, elder statesman.
Men of his stature and reputation don't even know the meaning of the word "hypocrisy", I'm sure....

Well known for going out on a limb ( usually someone else's appendage) to get the important issues of the day to a wider deserving audience.

At, or for, a price, depending which side you look at it from.

Allegedly..........

[Penforhire]

There is a natural transition here. We see it in other fields as well. Microsoft became the OS and Office software powerhouse it is because its early versions were easy to pirate. Now they have a huge lead and want to protect it so they crack down on copying as best they can. Autodesk did the same thing with AutoCAD software as well (became a pirated standard then got tough).