Ahoy There Pirates!

Jude Umeh

3 Comments

February 27, 2009

Category : Web

Yes, this means you, you, and yes, you too. The only people exempt are those that can honestly claim to have had no contact with computing, Internet and mobile technologies, (and live under a rock for good measure), but even so I think they’d still struggle to prove their innocence on charges of file sharing. Luckily the burden of proof usually lies with an injured party, or litigant, as is currently the case with the prosecution team in the ongoing Pirate Bay Trial in Sweden. This trial, in case you have been residing underground, was launched against the operators of Pirate Bay, (an online BitTorrent tracker website), who stand accused of contributory copyright infringement. If found guilty, the four defendants could each face a two-year jail term, and six-figure fines, just for starters. The case has attracted great public interest and media coverage over the possible outcome and implication for the global content industry (and for the unwashed hordes of ye olde file-sharing pirates & parasites. Arrrr!) This is an interesting one to watch, if only for the unfolding drama, (I bet someone has already cornered the film rights), on which you can find further coverage here. The highlights, apart from this trial being the hottest ticket in town, include:

Defendants remain defiant and upbeat - you can even catch them on your favourite Web 2.0 channel e.g.: Twitter / Blogs / YouTube, etc.
Prosecution drops some charges – i.e. for outright copy-based infringement, but have retained the charges related to making files available to the public
The IFPI website got hacked – Although the defendants have pleaded against such activities
Prosecution alters charges – apparently in a bid to ensure conviction
IFPI president has his day in court – and squarely blames Pirate Bay, and similar services, for damaging the music industry

I can’t wait to see which way the dice will fall on this trial, which just replays the never-ending and titanic struggle between the old and the new in their efforts to win hearts and minds. Finally, and on a similar theme, a major ISP in Ireland has agreed to block users from accessing music swapping websites, at the instigation of the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA). Interestingly enough, this might well prove to be a more effective method for reducing casual piracy than the Pirate Bay trial. However, it also opens up a whole new battle ground between ISPs and their customers, as the latter might very well decide to change providers, and / or raise a huge stink about some violation-of-human-rights or other. Watch this space.

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Jude Umeh

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rimans:
February 27, 2009 at 8:13am

Are the music and film industries the only industries that totally miss that they should change their business model? Radiohead and Nine Inch nails are the few bands I know that get it (and make a nice living by letting people decide what to pay for their products: <a href="http://www.capgemini.com/technology-blog/2008/10/it_is_all_about_what_i_want.php)." rel="nofollow">http://www.capgemini.com/technology-blog/2008/10/it_is_all_about_what_i_want.php).</a>
I would even want to go further (without encouraging piracy and copyright infringements), people only download these things because these are free. If the only option was to pay for these things, the would not buy it and would not watch it or listen to it. There is no loss in sales (or very very little). If people really like it, they will download it and than buy it (free trial), however if your product is not good, you won't earn more money by preventing it to be pirated.
There has even been research by TNO ( <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Organisation_for_Applied_Scientific_Research" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Organisation_for_Applied_Scientific_Research</a> ). Which had the outcome that file sharing in general had a positive effect on the economy. (document in dutch here: <a href="http://www.tno.nl/content.cfm?context=overtno&content=nieuwsbericht&laag1=37&laag2=2&item_id=2009-01-16%2012:57:23.0)" rel="nofollow">http://www.tno.nl/content.cfm?context=overtno&content=nieuwsbericht&laag1=37&laag2=2&item_id=2009-01-16%2012:57:23.0)</a>

Harshal Vaidya:
February 27, 2009 at 8:38am

I completely support websites like www.piratebay.org in principle. The problem is not them. The problem actually is the record labels which want to still cash in fat profits which they used to in the earlier era. A simple CD Album costs Rs.530 in India which is pretty ridiculous.
If the record labels could wake up and start selling MP3's for a affordable price, believe me, people would again flock in at the Music shops and buy. General people like you and me do not support piracy. But piracy wins over affordability. If they could just understand this there wouldn't be any need of any court cases.

jumeh:
February 27, 2009 at 11:28am

Guys, I think those points reach to the heart of the matter i.e.:
1. Content business models need to evolve much faster.
2. Users are prepared to pay for content as long as the balance between: price / convenience / availability is got right. Scarcity and artificial pricing is so yesterday.
3. Piracy alone does not account for the woes of the music industry
Furthermore, the whole concept of Copyright needs to be re-aligned towards a global digital framework, if it is to serve all its stakeholders. Forums like the forthcoming World Copyright Summit (see: www.copyrightsummit.com), need to urgently focus on creating universal / practical solutions, that are not restricted by the interests of any one particular stakeholder group or geo-political region.

Capping IT Off