Zak Woodward Woodward1
Period 1
Lomonte
12/6/10
Movie Piracy
Movie Piracy is a growing threat, according a recent study conducted by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America). According to this study almost 25% of internet users from eight different countries had downloaded at least one movie illegally, and an astonishing 69% of responders did not think that music/movie piracy was a big deal.
Not only has 1/4 of responders downloaded a movie online, another 17% said they expected to start within the next year. Furthermore over half of those who had previously downloaded a movie said that they planned to continue the practice.
There are multiple causes pushing consumers towards illegal downloading first, broadband and compression technologies make downloading movies easier than it ever has been before. Along with high ticket prices, a wide variety of online films was cited as another factor pushing consumers to download. This has become so simple a process that movies can be downloaded even before they are released in theaters.
In response to this growing trend, multiple agencies including the MPAA are cracking down. The feds shut down nine piracy sites according to the NY times, and the MPAA has launched an ad campaign in response to the 3 billion dollars in revenue being lost annually to movie pirates.
However do to the difficulty in catching these thieves; federal courts are pushing for a maximum sentence for those few they do catch to dissuade pirates still at large. According to the
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LA Times an Irvine man pled guilty to a felony for downloading a single movie before it was released in theaters.
This is a serious problem that has everybody in the movie industry worried about what it could mean for their bottom line. The simple solution that keeps the government happy and you out of trouble is to stay as far away from it as possible, but ultimately it comes down to the internet user and whether or not they want to take the risk. And right now that risk is paying off because there is not a lot the government can do about it.
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