"Would you steal a handbag?" - Piracy...

[redpoppy]

Well if I could get an exact copy of the handbag without causing any real loss to the original owner, then maybe I would....

It's from the piracy advert.

I don't have issues with piracy. I suppose I justify it in many ways but I know some people are VERY anti piracy/copying/downloading.

I am someone who visits the cinema as often as possible, buys the majority of my DVDs as real copies, try to see new and established music artists when I can. But I used to record pop songs form the telly (with all the household noises on there too! ) and I still can't find it immoral to copy films or music.

Please explain why I may be wrong. As I admit I may be.

 

[Pixxie]

I also think it's a bit extreme It doesn't hurt anyone and it saves you money, everyone I know does it in one way or another so I find it hard to see it as being wrong tbh xxx

 

[BlackBerry25]

I wouldn't buy a fake brand name handbag. I do download 95% of my music, and most movies (I don't watch a lot of movies though)

 

[kiwimama]

I suppose if I were an artist, I would be pretty pissed off with people ripping off my music. It becomes quite a big thing when there are hundreds of thousands of people illegally downloading music instead of buying it. Perhaps it's not such a big thing in the UK/ US where there is a huge market, but in NZ it is a big issue because artists have such a small market to try and earn money in.

 

[redpoppy]

I suppose if I were an artist, I would be pretty pissed off with people ripping off my music. It becomes quite a big thing when there are hundreds of thousands of people illegally downloading music instead of buying it. Perhaps it's not such a big thing in the UK/ US where there is a huge market, but in NZ it is a big issue because artists have such a small market to try and earn money in.

I totally agree but I do feel that if an artist is good and lucky then the more downloads and illegal copies of their work that circulates the more likely people will want to see them live...? I understand it's more difficult in a smaller market but I suppose to a degree I think that's the burden of being an artist. (I did an art degree and consider myself an artists but haven't practiced for a while and not at all since the birth of my child).

I also think the fact the record companies have been overcharging for as long as they possibly could and I had to save for weeks to buy a tape album when I was a teenager means I have a chip on my shoulder.

 

[jess3012]

yeah i think its the artists that are trying too push for it to be banned as like op said its losing them money buy people downloading things off the net.

I personaly don't have a problem with it.

 

[jenstar]

No I don't buy anything "pirate."

The profit from pirate industries goes to the criminal gangs, drugs gangs and terrorists who run them and that is not something I wish to support.

 

[redpoppy]

No I don't buy anything "pirate."

The profit from pirate industries goes to the criminal gangs, drugs gangs and terrorists who run them and that is not something I wish to support.

But downloading stuff form the internet isn't funding anything. And that's where the vast majority of people get their pirate stuff.

Also, when you buy things from little video stores in third world countries who make a living out of just rented or selling their DVDs. I'm sorry but they're not funding terrorism or any of that nonsense. They're getting the DVDs from legitimate sources most of the time, copying them, and selling them to make a living. It's totally illegal on a global scale but in their own country these are legitimate businesses.

They don't really always get copyright laws. It's the way India many times copies hollywood films without getting any permissions first. I actually find it quite funny. I don't know what the current state of affairs it but it used to be very common.

 

[smokey]

My view on piracy is I normaly download a film to watch, if I like the film and it was good then most times I will then go to the cinema or buy it to watch to see it properly but if it was rubish then I havnt waisted my money and its their own fault for making a rubbish film

 

[redpoppy]

My view on piracy is I normaly download a film to watch, if I like the film and it was good then most times I will then go to the cinema or buy it to watch to see it properly but if it was rubish then I havnt waisted my money and its their own fault for making a rubbish film

I like your reasoning. I always prefer to see a film first time in the cinema if it's good but sometimes I do come out miffed because i've gone to see something because of the hype and its turned out AWFUL and they make lots of money and its not like you can get a refund for it being a bad film and ruining your night.

 

[rubixcyoob.]

I download music and stick it on my Ipod, but somehow I doubt that is funding any terrorist gang tbh. I'm not even paying for it so I don't see how it could be.

I download films to and most of the time I watch it on my laptop and then delete it, sometimes I put it onto a DVD for my own use in my home. However, before I do this I've generally seen the film in the cinema anyways or it's already out on DVD and I've paid to see it before.

 

[Fadesofblack]

My view on this is fairly difficult to explain, however I shall try. I believe any and all information should be free. Some of the greatest pieces of work I've ever seen and heard were just distributed over the internet for nothing.

In certain aspects I guess you could refer to it as putting it to the "man". Easy example would be Music CD. They make a maximum of 2% on a single sale of a cd. So say for a 10 dollar CD the artist actually receives 2 cents 75% goes to the recording label and the rest goes to the place of purchase. This isn't how it always goes but it's right around this formula. No music group ever made much money off CD sales they make it off concerts and touring where they can make upwards of 500,000 dollars in a single concert, or in the case of KISS specifically one concert makes them $950,000USD. Just one concert while some of your lesser known bands don't make nearly that much if they have a record deal and they're doing a concert they aren't making shit on their CD sales but are being very well paid for playing concerts. Indie bands don't count in this group however. Though for the majority of Indie bands you've never even heard of them anyway and you tend to want to listen to it before you go buying anything.

Film industry however is a slightly different affair as with them it's about sky high profits in my view as being absolutely sickening along with the sheer gouging they do to go see a film in a cinema. 10 quid to see a film in 3D is robbery. Not only do I consider their profits revolting and legal robbery it is also a matter of convince. While I can torrent an entire film in 10 minutes I couldn't go to the store to purchase it nearly that quickly. Add that to the fact I don't even have to get off the sofa to get it...well..lets just say it's almost too easy. While there are download video stores they don't have nearly the selection I'd like as well as they load it with so many DRM's that it makes it difficult to do what I want with my own file. Itunes Video for example I can't stream to my telly because my media player won't support their stupid love for Quicktime. In other words Video download stores would be a more viable option if they allowed more options and stopped being so crippling with their choices of formats on the user maybe they might do better. As it stands though it's not really about money it's about convience and being able to do the things that I want to do with something I paid for without restriction and they simply aren't capable of offering me that and are still stuck behind in the times and are drowning for that.

Video games and software are yet another matter. This one isn't placed on money so much as it is placed on the ridiculous DRM schemes they place on things so their software isn't stolen. To the point where it makes the legitimate version crippled in comparison. A very recent and very public example of this would be Assassin's Creed II where you had to have a constant internet connection to play it even though it was a Single Player only game while the pirated version you did not. Crippling features is in my opinion the biggest reason for any piece of software to be pirated, too many times have I purchased software and it just flat out wouldn't work for some of the stupidest reasons while the pirated version didn't care and ran completely fine.

Sorry about the wall of text.

 

[AppleBlossom]

Pirating doesn't bother me tbh lol

 

[midori1999]

I don't agree with piracy at all. I would never buy a pirate DVD or fake handbag or whatever and I would not illegally download anything either. It is stealing and stealing is illegal.

For some reason people think that stealing from big companies is somehow OK. They might not miss the money as much as individuals, but the point is still the same, it is morally wrong, so I neither condone it nor allow my children to partake in it.

 

[redpoppy]

I didn't mean fake handbags. I've never bought a fake handbag. I'm just quoting the piracy adevrt.

it says :

You wouldn't steal a car would you?

But downloading stuff isn't really comparable is it?

 

[midori1999]

I didn't mean fake handbags. I've never bought a fake handbag. I'm just quoting the piracy adevrt.

it says :

You wouldn't steal a car would you?

But downloading stuff isn't really comparable is it?

Oops, I get what you mean now...

I suppose a lot of people obviously don't see it as comparable, but stealing is stealing as far as I am concerned, no stealing is worse or better than any other.

 

[kiwimama]

I didn't mean fake handbags. I've never bought a fake handbag. I'm just quoting the piracy adevrt.

it says :

You wouldn't steal a car would you?

But downloading stuff isn't really comparable is it?

Oops, I get what you mean now...

I suppose a lot of people obviously don't see it as comparable, but stealing is stealing as far as I am concerned, no stealing is worse or better than any other.

Really? So nicking a lollie from one of the picknmix things or a grape in the supermarket is no better or worse then breaking into someones house and clearing them out of everything??

 

[Tegans Mama]

TBH, I don't care at all about piracy. Not even a single, tiny, little itty bitty bit. We have quite a big collection of pirated films on our laptop - BUT we do go to the cinema and buy a lot of DVD's. We watch films on Sky Box Office and subscribe to Sky movies. I guess we just download stuff we don't know whether we'll like or not, and then if we like it, we buy it.
As for music, we have an MP3 player in the car which has over 3000 songs we downloaded from *that* client that has been shut down this week (p.s where will I get my music now?!?!). However, in our kitchen we have a CD player with over 200 CD's that we bought from shops. So, we do contribute to the big companies, record labels etc, but we are guilty of pirating too.
I'd never buy a fake handbag or shoes though.

 

[jenstar]

I didn't mean fake handbags. I've never bought a fake handbag. I'm just quoting the piracy adevrt.

it says :

You wouldn't steal a car would you?

But downloading stuff isn't really comparable is it?

Oops, I get what you mean now...

I suppose a lot of people obviously don't see it as comparable, but stealing is stealing as far as I am concerned, no stealing is worse or better than any other.

Really? So nicking a lollie from one of the picknmix things or a grape in the supermarket is no better or worse then breaking into someones house and clearing them out of everything??

I didn't make the original comment you quoted but I agree with it and I do think that all stealing as as bad any other stealing. It does not matter the value of what you steal.

 

[BlackBerry25]

Sorry I really thought you meant a handbag