It seems that the entertainment industry has even more control over the world than it first seems. The much awaited ruling from the ongoing case of The Pirate Bay has finally been released. It came as a shock to me to hear that the 4 founders have been found guilty. Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Peter Sunde and Carl Lundström have all been charged with 'promoting other people's infringement of copyright laws.' Does this sound like someone is clutching at straws?
For those that haven't been following the case. Four men behind the torrent tracking website The Pirate Bay have been in court for breaking copyright laws. The US Entertainment Industry is trying to claim $15m in damages for the illegal sharing of 20 songs, 9 films, and 4 games. However, The Pirate Bay servers themselves hold none of this data; they merely hold files that point to the locations of the files on users computers (Google if you don't know about torrents)
If The Pirate Bay 4 are being prosecuted, then why shouldn't they prosecute the people behind Google? You can find the exact same information there. Are they guilty of 'promoting other people's infringement of BlahBlahBlah'?
I'm sure, just by using the power of google, that you cant find some seriously questionable content and yet, as much as I like Google and services they provide, they are just allowed to carry on as they are.
In my view, it is the fault of the Entertainment Industry in the first place poularising illegal file-sharing. When given the option of paying £10 for an album or £8 to go to the cinema (without popcorn!), or getting it for free, which one are you going to choose?! The Movie and Music industries have failed to embrace these new technologies.
The major television channels have come up with a solution with the likes of the BBC iPlayer and 4OD, both offering a free option for watching back TV episodes, so why can't the music and film industries come up with something similar? How difficult can it be? Stick a couple of short adverts at the beginning and end of the film and offer it for a cheap price. I know I wouldn't mind paying a couple of quid for an ad supported film, rather than nearly £10 for the DVD.
I am however fairly certain that even with the guys in jail, The Pirate Bay will continue to stay afloat. Offering new services like their IPREDator VPN, which at just €5 a month will give you complete anonymity whilst surfing and downloading. Not a bad idea if you ask me!
To read more about the case try The Local or BBC News
2 comments:
Last time I was at the cinema the adverts at the beginning lasted longer than the previews! They have the nerve to charge £10 for the right to see the film, then bombard you with adverts anyway! They're just taking the piss now imo
The VPN solution is spot on and I’m hoping will be the future of torrents, however the infrastructure to run this if far greater then ever before and because of this might never take off.
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