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Beg, Steal or Borrow
April 2010ZANI – File Sharing ?
File Sharing is a topic that sprung up in the late 90s as the Internet was taking hold across the world.Music, movies, you name it, people found a way to share it, and as the process got bigger, the authorities around the world got heavy handed or did they?
While the smaller acts around the planet have to resort to giving music away for free, or if they have even been allowed to make music at all, the larger acts are protecting their own interests by being VOCAL who could blame them, after all, it's their ART.
But I want to look at it from a ground zero point of view.
A band or musician that is fairly good gets signed by a record company.
They then go into a recording studio to record said music at a cost of say £50,000.
After they have finished the record, they are obliged to make a video, market the record, tour the record and so on.
Now how do they expect to even recoup the £50,000 back when their music is being STOLEN for FREE on the Internet?
Not even taking into account the other £200,000 that has been spent on them making it this far in the first place.
There are some train of thoughts that they would recoup the monies on a CONCERT ticket, but who would PAY £50.00 to see a new BAND surely they would have PURCHASED the £10 record in the first place.
Recently the UK brought in the Digital Economy Bill which goes along the lines of :
The act includes provisions relating to the UK’s communications infrastructure, public service broadcasting, copyright licensing and online infringement of copyright, as well as security and safety online and in video games.
The online infringement of copyright provision of the act, the part that would see file sharers’ internet connections terminated, will require secondary legislation before it can be implemented. However, section 15 regarding the sharing of costs in relation to provisions on online infringement of copyright, will come into effect immediately and could cost ISPs as much as £15m as they are forced to police their networks, according to a consultation document recently released by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).
And how does this fair across the world, well the USA have fought for years to bring downloaders and file sharers to task, and failed somewhat. Yes, they did prosecute the odd mother and father whose teenage sons and daughters were downloading movies and music from the Internet, but by and large, they failed to stop its worldwide growth.
In Brazil file sharing laws have had little affect on file sharers.
Argentina is the same, where, in a country of 49 million Internet users, they estimate a piracy rate of 71%.
In Germany in 2007 a judge ruled that file sharing was a PETTY offence.
In Spain in 2010 a Spanish judge stated that sites containing links to copyrighted information are not only LEGAL, but that torrenting copyrighted information for non-profit is inside the LAW.
In Canada, where it's said to have the GREATEST number of file sharers by percentage of the population of the world, the government there has stated that copyright violation is not a crime unless in pursuit of profit and that the POLICE simply do not have the time nor the resources to go after file sharers.
New Zealand has brought a UK-like digital economy bill in for 2010
France adopted the three strikes and you're out rule in 2009.
Ireland adopted the same rule in 2009
Russia, which for years was a safe haven for such activities, has stepped up its war on illegal downloaders in 2010.
China and the Ukraine now appear to be safe havens for cybercrimes where criminals are able to take advantage of low costs and legal loopholes to avoid prosecution.
Research has shown that in 2009 most bulletproof hosts are stationed in CHINA.
There are some new and interesting legislation bills being brought in, though I fear it's too little, and far too late to stop file-sharing around the world as each country's law presently stands .
“There will always be a place to run to,” said Rob Holmes, of IP Cybercrime. “Each time a law passes, or a new country creates some kind of stumbling block for them, they’ll always find another place to do this. It goes back to the speakeasies in the 1920s – when one place got busted, they would just congregate in another place.”
Chasing the ISP’s will only make them non-cooperative, chasing the average file user will get them to create more like-minded souls and WILL not deter them.
The only way you can have UNITY is by coming together.
A law will have to be passed in EVERY COUNTRY on the planet by every GOVERNMENT for anything to work in the Interests of the Art and its Artists.
© Words – Paul Gallagher / ZANI
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