On Piracy
The folks at YA Highway are not doing a Road Trip Wednesday today, in support of sites like Wikipedia (that’s Wikeepeedia, if you’re Hank Green) that are conducting a 24-hour blackout in protest of SOPA and PIPA. SOPA and PIPA are bills that are currently making their way through Congress in the US. Their intention is to toughen up existing anti-piracy legislation, particularly aimed at online piracy (e.g., illegal movie and music downloading). The proponents of the legislation feel they are just protecting the interests of copyright holders. Objectors believe that, while it is right to protect copyrights, the proposed legislation goes too far, and in fact threatens the free-flow of information over the internet, effectively curtailing free speech.
You can read more about the pros and cons of the legislation elsewhere. I’m not going to get into that here today. What I thought I would do is share with you some thoughts I have on the whole topic of illegal downloading and file-sharing–the issue at the center of this whole debate. Let me state upfront that I don’t condone illegal downloading and file-sharing. I respect copyrights, not just because I believe that people who work ought to be paid for their labor, but one day I hope to be published, and I’d like to think people will actually buy my books so I can use that money to support myself and my family.
What bothers me is that the methods typically employed to counter piracy inevitably involve punishing everyone. Since it takes a lot of time, money, and manpower to track down and prosecute the original perpetrators, prosecutors employ measures to try to make it difficult for pirates to go about their business. But those measures usually end up hurting the law-abiding folks more than the pirates. For example, you might recall that the music industry has tried using special encoding on CDs and DVDs to prevent people from ripping them. While this might deter the pirates (though, actually, it doesn’t), it does nothing for the people who have legally purchased the CD or DVD and just want to make a backup copy for their own use, in the event of loss or damage. Some companies might make free mp3 (for music) or divx (for video) versions available for backup, but that’s hardly fair. Mp3 quality is far inferior to CD quality (and there are still some of us out there that can tell the difference), likewise divx compared to DVD.
Rather this “punish everyone in the hope of stopping the offender” approach, I would much rather an approach that rewards those who respect the law. Make it easier, and more beneficial, for people to do things legally. Offer incentives for people to purchase music and movies. Perhaps network and cable TV websites could do more in terms of offering content online. I know some networks make shows available online to view, but only for a limited time (I believe), and they litter the shows with commercials. This does more to drive people to YouTube, or file-sharing sites where they can watch the shows anytime for free and skip the commercials totally. I understand commercials help pay for the shows, but be sensitive to the viewer. Try to make the commercial content only as much as is necessary–perhaps one at the beginning, and one in the middle. “But then people won’t watch the show when it airs!” Considering a growing number of people are recording shows on their DVRs where they can skip through the commercials, I don’t think this is that big of a deal.
Also, price books, CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Rays at a fair price. Again, I respect that media producers need to make money–that’s only right. But don’t drive people to getting their media illegally by overpricing the products. Make it easy for people without means to have access to the media they want. What about online libraries where you can “borrow” a movie, a CD, or a book for free for a certain period of time? These don’t have to be high-quality versions, but good enough for people to enjoy, and decide if they want to purchase. I believe there are some sites that are trying things like this. I think this would be a better use of funds than pouring money into futile efforts that only hurt the good guys.
[UPDATE: This article by Peter Brantley on the Publishers Weekly blog from Jan 6th supports the idea that libraries do more to thwart pirates than draconian legislation. Thanks to Kristin Nelson at PubRants for the link.]
Piracy is going to happen. As much as you legislate, there are going to be those that will find a way around whatever measures are put in place to stop them. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people do not have the tenacity or technical know-how of the pirates. They are the ones that end up suffering. Certainly, pirates should be hunted down and prosecuted. But I think the best way to curtail piracy is to reward those who do good, and make it easier to read books, watch movies or TV shows, or listen to music legally (especially for those that can’t afford to spend a lot of money on CDs and DVDs).
How would you tackle online piracy? Feel free to share in the comments–even if you disagree with me. Just be nice. š
An excellent post on the subject, Colin. I had to laugh because when I saw the title, I somehow knew there was going to be a picture of a pirate lol š I like the idea you mention of an online library of sorts where people can borrow rather than steal. I often wonder why groups like Netflix don’t have all of the movies that regular video stores had (old and new). I’d pay to watch older movies, I just wish I actually had access to them, and didn’t have to buy them all on DVD and Blu-ray. All of the brick and mortar video stores have gone under here in Canada, so I’m hoping a good alternative will crop up.
Thanks, Jaime. It occurred to me that most libraries let you borrow CDs and DVDs, and you don’t pay to become a member. So why can’t someone make this possible online? Even if you have to go to a secure site to watch the movie, or listen to the CD for free (so no actual “downloading” is going on), I’m sure people would be willing to do that to stay legal.
I believe part of the problem also is the perceived lack of quality coming from music and film studios. Hollywood is bombarding us with so much per year and a good 90% of it is utter drivel. Combine that with the average cost of a cinema ticket… If there were less quantity at a higher quality, it would be interesting to see if piracy decreased.
I’m not sure… there’s a lot of people who like drivel. It’s in the eye and ear of the beholder. I think there are people who can’t afford the products who still want to enjoy them, and those who can afford the products but don’t want to pay for them. The latter will never be convinced to do the right thing, and aside from prosecuting them when possible, there’s not much else you can do. The sad thing is, the expense of chasing after this minority is what hurts the vast majority in the former category. Making products cheaper and more readily available is what will hurt piracy more than anything, IMO.