The technology sector got a surprise late last week when it was found that a Senate Committee was preparing to fast track a bill that will give the Department of Justice the power to detect and put a stop to illegal file sharing and counterfeiting otherwise known as piracy. Piracy has become a large part of the entertainment business. Yes, there are still millions of copies of DVDs, CDs, and video games sold every week, as well as multiple legal music and video files over the internet, but there is just as many copies being pirated on a daily basis. For example, Rally Master Pro for the IPhone claimed 95% of the downloaded versions of the game were pirated copies. That is unreal, and many other developers and movie producers are hit with the same issues.
Consumers obviously have reasons why they like to pirate movies or games. First of all, they don't know if they are going to really like it and some may go actually purchase the real version after testing it on a pirated version. This is why more and more gaming companies allow demos to be dispersed. Movies don't have the same luxury and are far easier to reproduce. Movies also are more frequently released and there are more subpar products being released as well. This means more people are going to pirate movies because they don't want to pay the high release day price of $20 in most cases. Of course, there is Redbox, but people seem too lazy to even go do that anymore.
I agree that the price of consumer electronics is extremely overpriced when it comes to media. Ten dollars to see a movie in the theatre is just way too much, especially when they tack on 3 more dollars for a 3d picture. But, going to see a movie is part of the experience, and in owning the movie you are supporting the people who made the movie possible and also funding their future productions. I don't pirate anything and I don't condone it. I don't want a limited choice when it comes to media. I want there to be a lot of movies to choose from on a Friday night and I want their to be a lot of musical artists for me to pick a favorite out of as well as multiple challenges to complete on my Playstation 3. The only way for it to stay this way is for people to stop pirating media. Rent it if you don't want to buy it and if you don't want to pay $1 to rent it you don't really care too much to be wasting your time watching it or playing it in the first place.
Many are afraid this bill will start censoring the internet and not really just protect copyrights. They also are afraid it is denying us some of our current amendments that equal our freedom. This is a little farfetched and if you are going to tell me that pirating is ok because Eminem is still making millions that is not acceptable either. Eminem is the top, well second person to get paid on a CD. The label is first, then Eminem, and so on. There is a lot of people and employees that are affected by this even if the top dog is still getting his share. All the way down to the people working in factories that distribute money, it is important for us to pay for the services that are provided.
I doubt this bill will actually get fast tracked and pirating has been a "top" priority with several political groups for a long time now and nothing ever seems to really change. Actually pirating is probably way worse today than it was in the times of Napster and Bearshare. It would be almost impossible to regulate and control everything without turning off the internet I will concur on that with the people raising a red flag at the bill. I think it just comes down to honesty and people in our country wanting everything free or looking for the easy way and really if everyone worked for and earned what they get we would be in a lot better situation.
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