Got an interesting e-mail a few hours ago detailing software piracy losses from the year 2009, also known as “last year.” The big, scary number is 51, as in $51 billion in losses. So says the Business Software Association. Reading the report, which is dripping with alarmist rhetoric, you’d think that Gaia herself were in danger. Don’t worry, guys, we’ll get through this. → Read More
Call me crazy, but wasn’t the point of Avatar to go see it in 3D on the big screen? Otherwise, why bother? Be that as it may, Avatar is on track to hold the distinction of being the most pirated Blu-ray release of all time. Nice job, guys! → Read More
More fallout from last week’s U.S. Government Accountability Office report on the entertainment industry’s piracy numbers. The gist of the report was that the government (and you and I) should never believe what the entertainment industry has to say again re: piracy because it was pulling data completely out of thin air. “Oh, 44 percent of all unauthorized file-sharing comes from universities, so you universities have to install filters to prevent students from downloading this and that, and we’ll need new laws passed to protect our dying business methods. Oh, wait, sorry, math error, that’s only 15 percent of unauthorized file-sharing. What, you want to know where we got these numbers from? Sorry, can’t tell you, trade secret, but please pass favorable legislation anyway, kthxbye.” → Read More
This is interesting. While checking up on the implications of Sony’s removal of the “Install Other OS” option, Thinq ran into a particularly troubling clause in the EULA.
Some services may be provided automatically without notice when you are online, and others may be available to you through SCE’s online network or authorized channels. Without limitation, services may include the provision of the latest update or download of new release that may include security patches, new technology or revised settings and features which may prevent access to unauthorized or pirated content, or use of unauthorized hardware or software in connection with the PS3™ system.
Sales of Nintendo’s DS games are dropping in Europe, and according to Nintendo there’s clear reason why: piracy. With the release of software like R4, it appears that more and more owners of the portable systems are turning to less then reputable sources for their games. → Read More
You know how you read stories that say the U.S. loses X-amount of jobs per year due to piracy, or that this or that industry loses zillions of dollars per year because of piracy? The Government Accountability Office just released a new report that says that all of those reports are flawed and are completely worthless. In other words, the next time you hear the MPAA say “Downloading that DVD rip will ruin the movie industry” you can safely say, “Really? Where’s the proof → Read More
The Digital Economy Act passed in the UK, as you know, and it’s pretty terrible. One of the more spicy sections of the law involved peer-to-peer use, and how it basically makes ISPs responsible for what their customers download. So if HBO finds that you’ve been download “The Pacific,” (really good show, by the way, much to my surprise) it can contact your ISP, who’s then responsible for telling you to knock if off. If not, you face a truly horrible punishment: you’re sent to Stoke! (That’s a joke, people!) → Read More
Don’t mess with Canada, I suppose. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested someone last month for selling pirated games over the Internet. Of all the dumb things I’ve read, that’s right up there with the best of them. Like, selling pirated video games on the Internet should be featured in “World’s Dumbest Criminals” on some trash-television channel. → Read More
We haven’t really progressed beyond the year 2004, have we? With respect to copyright news, I mean. The latest: the “US Copyright Group” has filed suit against 20,000 BitTorrent users, with a cool 30,000 lawsuits now pending. If you total all the various different “Hollywood” (you know what I mean) lawsuits, that means that 80,000 Americans now face some sort of traffic-lawsuit. → Read More
Warner Bros. UK is offering an internship to “IT literate” students that requires them to spy on fellow file-sharers. The intern will have to maintain accounts on private BitTorrent sites, as well as procure new accounts, in order to supply Warner Bros. UK with information on how that whole “world” works. Not a bad idea from Warner’s perspective. → Read More
Hollywood (the movie studios, the record labels, etc.) sure does have a knack for causing its own problems. You’ll recall that it’s en vogue to call copyright infringers “pirates,” which is an insult to legitimate pirates like William Kidd and Henry Morgan. Just because you can fire up uTorrent doesn’t mean you can take on a Spanish Armada. But, whatever, it’s simply easier for Hollywood and its acolytes to call you kids “pirates” than it is to have an adult discussion about the subject. → Read More
Apparently it’s illegal in Canada to copy music from a CD you bought to an iPod (or whatever). It’s simply not allowed, even if you’re not breaking any DRM in the process. (In the U.S., it’s illegal to copy a DVD to your computer’s hard drive because you have to circumvent the copy protection in the process.) Solution? Some sort of levy, which would ensure that “artists” make money even though you’re not re-buying their music. → Read More
Apparently there was some sort of media summit in Abu Dhabi recently, and a big topic of discussion was copyright infringement. (I think we need to reserve the word “piracy” for actual, sea-faring piracy, not kids grabbing the random Sublime song off LimeWire.) Rupert Murdoch called on governments to stop copyright infringers, asking them to punish them as they would shoplifters. I guess Murdoch doesn’t understand the different between theft and copyright infringement. And Ari Emmanuel, Rahm Emmanuel’s brother (and the inspiration for the Entourage character Ari), has been lobbying President Obama to implement some sort of three-strikes policy, like they have in France. France! → Read More
Comcast, Time Warner Cable, and Cox are busy funding some new, super-duper anti-BitTorrent technology called BitStalker. The difference between it and other anti-BitTorrent systems is that it’s said to be accurate. That’s a huge development, actually. → Read More
Those wacky Penny Arcade guys! Always writing something intelligent about issues that force most gamers to resort to name-calling and cursing! → Read More
To say I know who Keith Urban is would be scandalous. I’ve since learned, in the six seconds of research done for this here post, that he’s something of a country music singer. He must be a good singer, too, since he recently won the People’s Choice Awards for Favorite Male Artist. In his acceptance speech, he thanked people for listening to his music, adding, “I don’t even care if you download it illegally, give it to your friends, I really don’t care.” And then it all came crashing down. → Read More
Four percent of U.S. gamers admit to pirating video games, according to a new NPD report that apparently we’re not cool enough to get directly from the NPD. I’m going to guess that more than one of you fall into that four percent. → Read More
Do not expect UFC to look the other when it comes to online piracy of its various pay-per-view events. Dana White, the company’s president, recently told the Vancouver Sun that he and the UFC will do whatever it takes to eliminate piracy. “It’s gonna cost us a lot of money, but guess what, it’s gonna cost them [pirates] a lot of money. It’s gonna get to the point where it’s like, fuck it, maybe we shouldn’t pirate MMA anymore.” This is not a very forward-thinking way of looking at the problem, no. → Read More
On the face of it, today’s story that 2009 was Hollywood’s best ever (so thanks for rewarding creativity, America), raking in some $10 billion, should be good news for a few people. It should be good news for the movie studios, which will now invest that money in yachts, caviar, human growth hormone, and sequels to today’s sequels. It should be good news for theatre owners, who were concerned that people would stop going to the movies as a result of the recession. Not so! (As if they didn’t have a precedent to cite…) It should be good news, in a weird way, to people who pirate movies and bleat that their doing so isn’t harming the industry one bit. → Read More
It’s been a running theme for the past few years, and as more and more people get faster Internet connections, and as video compression technology continues to improve, we’re going to be hearing a lot more about it. I refer, of course (of course!), to illegal streams of live sporting events. Whether you’re firing up TVAnts on Sunday to watch Arsenal take on Aston Villa, or trolling USTREAM for a live feed of WWE’s Royal Rumble, or looking for MMA-TV to watch this month’s UFC pay-per-view, you are, in fact, breaking the law. Not only are you breaking the law, but you may even be taking money away from the companies/teams/sports you purport to support. But is that all there is to it? → Read More
