And let's talk again about the fight against pirates

    image
    How can we talk about the fight against piracy in a country where the purchase of licensed content is perceived as an act of charity? © Folklore.

    Since the start of the trend in the fight against illegal copying of content around the world, lawmakers and copyright holders are considering only the consequence of the problem, i.e. the very fact of piracy on the network, and not its problems, root causes.
    “The best way to stop piracy is by no means sophisticated anti-piracy technology, it’s providing people with better services than they can get from pirates.” © Gabe Newell


    And now in the case


    If you dig a little deeper and fence off the cries of copyright holders about theft and the need to comply with the letter of the Law, we get the following statement:

    The fight against piracy is an attempt not to adapt to the methods of transferring large amounts of data that have appeared in the last 10 years, but to preserve the old order of things.

    It is not surprising that lobbyists fighting piracy are trying to compete with such a phenomenon as high-speed access to the network. All tactics of countering the illegal distribution of content are based on the policy of prohibition, toughening penalties for downloading, etc.

    To date, piracy has two root causes:

    • Unwillingness to spend money on media products and copyright objects through the purchase of a copy for personal use.
    • The lack of service, the possibility of a comfortable purchase of the product of interest using the Internet as such.

    The first type of piracy, yes, it is necessary to stop through the existing legal system. But, unfortunately, the bulk of those who advocate the fight against digital piracy miss a very, very important thing:

    Most often, we do not have alternatives to piracy comparable in terms of service.

    This is exactly what Gabe Newell once said. With the advent of the Steam platform as a digital video game store, the pirate trend in this segment began to decline. Now hundreds of thousands of players around the world prefer to buy a licensed copy of the game, rather than using pirated copies. Why? The point is in the service, and not only in the service, the right to which is given by the possession of a license, but also in the service, which the site itself provides. Rather, the matter is even in the latter.

    Currently, licensed content on the network is not publicly distributed, in any case, video content. I ask you not to give examples of Amedia or Netflix, they are regional and are not global players.

    image
    A typical situation.

    Okay, even if I had access to such resources, what would it change? The resource torrentfreak.com gives an interesting table about the possibility of buying new cinema novelties in recent months:

    image

    At the same time, copyright holders say that in Europe there are about 3,000 services for the legal distribution of films and music on demand.

    Only the NTV + business model gets into your head when you order a movie from a catalog for viewing on your own TV. There is no opportunity to buy a copy and “put” it on your digital shelf, as implemented by Steam, yet. Plus, the lack of a global player makes itself felt, to me, as a non-European, the existence of such services is neither warm nor cold.

    I will say more, the problem of the availability of popular content (films) affects not only new products on Netflix, as the largest western platform in this area. Today, only 16% of popular films are available there , regardless of the release date . 84% of the content cannot be acquired due to legal delays and claims of copyright holders.

    The following picture emerges:

    In the age of high-speed data transfer, we are deprived of choice and forced to use the already archaic and for many unacceptable movie theaters (greetings to people rustling with chips). And we ourselves go to the pirates.

    Okay Could this be disadvantageous? Let's try to make a list of the advantages of creating a global digital distribution service for films:

    • Availability of new products in digital form;
    • Refusal of licensed physical media in favor of official digital copies (cost reduction and removal of storage issues);
    • Convenient and comfortable service;
    • Pre-order content and the possibility of preliminary acquaintance with it;
    • Getting high quality products and bonus materials in one click without leaving your PC;
    • The ability to directly encourage the creators / publishers of the product you like.


    The advantages of creating a similar platform for publishers and content authors:

    • Savings on media and network maintenance, resulting in reduced costs and increased share of net profit;
    • Mastering the digital market and reducing piracy in a natural way;
    • Obtaining the correct information about people's preferences (except for box office);
    • The ability to promote and sell low-budget and non-format projects without major financial risks (read GreenLight);
    • The ability to effectively implement goods related to the content (bonuses, documentaries from filming / recordings, digital autographs, etc.);
    • The ability to profit before the release of content (previous orders);
    • The ability to effectively implement expanded and collectible publications for fans (packages of basic and related products mentioned earlier);


    Do we have these features? Not. Now we are captive pirates, we simply have nowhere to buy a digital license.

    Can we change something?


    Unfortunately, it is too late to assert the right to freely move content on the network. We need to fight for a modern and comfortable service at a reasonable price, if the powers that be are concerned about the problem of piracy and want to cover it. Now it is becoming very clear that sooner or later they will turn from words to action and engage in piracy will become unsafe for their freedom and wallet. We need a platform within which we would be ready to pay money for, for example, a film. What exists on the services market now, let’s say so, is unworthy of even opening in a browser window, not to mention making a purchase.

    Why did I write this material? Because everyone has always said that "copyright holders are snickering", freedom of information and all that. But in fact, in fact, we simply have no choice. I have nowhere to buy a new movie to watch at home, and the DVD player has not started for three years now. We have no alternatives to piracy, but should be.

    Only registered users can participate in the survey. Please come in.

    Would you buy the latest movies in the Steam counterpart for movies?

    • 26.1% Yes 564
    • 7% No 151
    • 44.6% At a price lower than the cost of a movie ticket 964
    • 21.8% YO-HO-HO, WHISTING ALL FOR DISTRIBUTION !!! 111 472
    • 0.2% Own option in the comments 6

    Would you like to put together a digital collection of licensed copies of films that you have already seen and loved?

    • 30.3% Yes 620
    • 17.9% No 367
    • 41.7% If it will be much cheaper than buying new items, why not 854
    • 9.3% I already saw it, and for nothing 192
    • 0.5% Custom version in comments 11

    Also popular now: