News Megaupload founder will be extradited to the U.S. to face criminal charges — now-defunct file-sharing website had cost film studios and record comp...

[Math Geek]

We will be engaged in the same cat-and-mouse game forever, with the pirates largely winning.

the cat and mouse game is never about totally stopping it. it's about making it hard enough that the "average" person won't bother trying it.

napster was the first to make it truly easy to grab anything and everything so they had no choice but to go after them with all guns blazing. not that you couldn't get it all before other places, but just that it was so easy for anyone with an internet connection to install it and download as much as they wanted.

more modern options like the pirate bay and such were also hit hard due to the same simplicity of use.

the first place to get it all (well before napster) is still the same place you can go to get anything and everything to this day. it's just not easy enough or well known enough for the studios to spend the money trying to stop it. but let someone create an indexing/downloading program for that small out of the way place on the interwebs, and they'll come gunning for that as well.

(note: i did purposely leave out what i am refering to, if you don't know what it is, then good for you!!! if you do know, then shame shame SHAME on you!!!)

 

[bit_user]

I don't see "sensible copyright" becoming part of the platform for any major political party. We will be engaged in the same cat-and-mouse game forever, with the pirates largely winning.

In fact, there was an interesting development on this front.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party
​

I think it never gained all that much traction and couldn't really have much impact, outside of parliamentary systems.

I do think it's interesting how it seems to have started in Sweden and appeared to have some real momentum, but then pretty much fizzled there. Probably no coincidence with the fact that IP business seems to have become a somewhat disproportionate part of Sweden's economy, since then. Notably, Spotify was founded there.

 

[P.Amini]

the cat and mouse game is never about totally stopping it. it's about making it hard enough that the "average" person won't bother trying it.

napster was the first to make it truly easy to grab anything and everything so they had no choice but to go after them with all guns blazing. not that you couldn't get it all before other places, but just that it was so easy for anyone with an internet connection to install it and download as much as they wanted.

more modern options like the pirate bay and such were also hit hard due to the same simplicity of use.

the first place to get it all (well before napster) is still the same place you can go to get anything and everything to this day. it's just not easy enough or well known enough for the studios to spend the money trying to stop it. but let someone create an indexing/downloading program for that small out of the way place on the interwebs, and they'll come gunning for that as well.

(note: i did purposely leave out what i am refering to, if you don't know what it is, then good for you!!! if you do know, then shame shame SHAME on you!!!)

Shame on you!

 

[Math Geek]

LMAO

 

[35below0]

Good. He should be in jail. Bout fricken time too. He made a fortune illegaly and laundered money so ef him. He's been living it up long enough anyway.


But the copyright industry did help create people like him in the first place. And that crime will go unpunished.

It's all good if the entertainment producers and sellers can join together to screw the customer. But digital technology gave the customer a tool to screw them right back!
That is why digital laws came about to protect intelectual property. Balance shifted very suddenly completely in the customer's favor.

I can't imagine pirating a game today with Steam and GOG around. And i can't imagine charging $80 for an unfinished game being the norm. Content and value are great compared to 30 years ago.

And movies? I may be interested in an uncensored or non-remastered version, or something region-locked, but that's just because it isn't offered in a digital store for a reasonable price. If it was, i would not look in the direction of "file-sharing".

The way to stop piracy was always to make legal content more appealing. Somehow, this is still a struggle for some companies...

 

[bit_user]

It's all good if the entertainment producers and sellers can join together to screw the customer. But digital technology gave the customer a tool to screw them right back!
That is why digital laws came about to protect intellectual property. Balance shifted very suddenly completely in the customer's favor.

That's pretty much the aspect I find most interesting. Back in the era of physical media, companies involved in its manufacturing & distribution solved a real problem. Then, as technology provided better ways to distribute bundles of information that were the essence of their product, they initially failed to adapt and try to hold back the benefits of this new technology, kicking and screaming all the way.

I have somewhat complicated feelings about IP. Creators do need to get paid (and in a way that's relatively consistent and predictable), if we want much high-quality content to continue getting produced. Therefore, we need systems of laws and technologies which support that.

On the other hand, eliminating the ability of consumers to own and control a copy of content is going to have huge societal implications, in the decades to come. In the same way you sometimes hear about old film archives and museums going up in flames, I'm sure things like business decisions, bankruptcies, technological incidents, hackers, etc. will inevitably result in troves of digital content being lost to future generations.

 

[gg83]

But when you send many millions to campaign contributions, suddenly it becomes important, whether it is or not.

Exactly. You nailed it.

 

[pixelpusher220]

It is just like copyright is supposed to drop off on content after so many years, but because of the Big Bucks like Disney gives out like candy to Congress, it is no longer happening. Big Business rules.

Yep. Copyright is currently 75 years after the death of the author.

Q: So when does Disney die?

A: Not soon enough.