This is a good thing, piracy is illegal. If there wasn't rampant piracy we wouldn't have to worry about idiots drafting up bills like Protect-IP and SOPA.
If you really believe that, you have neither understood basic cause and effect nor the entire problem of copyright in the digital age of unlimited sharing.
> If there wasn't rampant piracy we wouldn't have to worry about idiots drafting up bills like Protect-IP and SOPA.
There's really only one way to interpret that.
Piracy isn't "rampant". Profits are up on pretty much every form of media out there. Every time an industry group whines about piracy, you can count on it being a complete pack of lies.
Lol I've gotten so many down votes. I disagree, and I wish people would leave room for discussion instead of being so quick to plaster me with down-vote bullets for what I think.
Piracy in my opinion is rampant. For example: You can go on the pirate bay and pirate the adobe cs suite, microsoft office, your favorite albums, your favorite movies, with ease. You are (if you forgot) supposed to pay for these things.
And this level of access is available to everyone with an internet connection.
I'm not talking about "profits", we all know big media makes enough money to stay afloat & some. But you can't make the assumption that everything is a lie.
I hate it when people go to extremes, and I admit that my claim may be assumption you don't agree with. :/
I absolutely can (and do) make the assumption that everything an *AA group says is a lie, because 1) They've done it multiple times in the past, and 2) they don't care about anything but their own interests.
And as far as "with ease" - you're forgetting that torrenting is still a fairly involved operation. It's accessible to anyone with an internet connection in the same way that programming is accessible to anyone with a computer.
It's not just click a link and download. It's more like:
1) Download and install a torrent client
2) Configure their firewall to allow the connections through
3) Browse a tracker site and select a file
4) Download it
5) Apply whatever cracks are necessary to bypass the copy protection
6) Do all of the above without infecting yourself with some form of malware.
Furthermore, there are at least two studies (and many more industry success stories) that suggest that people prefer the legal option when it's presented to them reasonably.
Reasonable meaning, a fair price (and don't give me any of that "free market" BS either, fair meaning non-insulting), no anti-consumer crap (because DRM inconveniences nobody but paying consumers.. bought a DVD recently?), and no draconian license terms (there is absolutely no good reason that I can't legally rip my DVD's to my computer for my own fair use)
There is no room for discussion or nuance on this matter. The RIAA/MPAA are a threat to freedom, culture and as a result, society at large. They've shown their willingness to lie to pass absurdly horribly legislation - why should anything they ever say be trusted again?
