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I have torrented/streamed/shared/pirated media of all forms for many years. The total dollar value worth of what I have essentially experienced for free, if meticulously added up, would easily run into the 6 digit margin. Not simply entertainment media, but vast resources of educational material, professional software, we're not even getting into adult movies yet.
Over the years, the newspapers say it's getting worse, but to me it's just getting better and better. In the startup days of the internet there was the phenomenon of Warez, the first revolution of pirating. Ever since the first crackdowns sites have sprung up faster than anybody could ever control them. Technologists have always been ahead of any industry or government.
I don't torrent much anymore but occasionally do, and to me, it is fantastic. Anything I want in terms of software is at my fingertips. I'm not from a background where there was the money to have ever experienced this otherwise and it has helped me tremendously in my creativity. And wherever I could have helped, I have also willingly pirated away.
To me, internet piracy is a wonderful thing - media for the masses. It is getting more accessible and safer. The idea of a 'volunteer market' is still pretty disgusting to me. But having what I could not otherwise have? Why say no to that when there are no consequences?
I have torrented/streamed/shared/pirated media of all forms for many years. The total dollar value worth of what I have essentially experienced for free, if meticulously added up, would easily run into the 6 digit margin. Not simply entertainment media, but vast resources of educational material, professional software, we're not even getting into adult movies yet.
Over the years, the newspapers say it's getting worse, but to me it's just getting better and better. In the startup days of the internet there was the phenomenon of Warez, the first revolution of pirating. Ever since the first crackdowns sites have sprung up faster than anybody could ever control them. Technologists have always been ahead of any industry or government.
I don't torrent much anymore but occasionally do, and to me, it is fantastic. Anything I want in terms of software is at my fingertips. I'm not from a background where there was the money to have ever experienced this otherwise and it has helped me tremendously in my creativity. And wherever I could have helped, I have also willingly pirated away.
To me, internet piracy is a wonderful thing - media for the masses. It is getting more accessible and safer. The idea of a 'volunteer market' is still pretty disgusting to me. But having what I could not otherwise have? Why say no to that when there are no consequences?
I did it, I know it's wrong and I'm not going to justify my actions. I will say that record labels give artists such a small cut of the profits it's pathetic. Nobody made them sign the contracts though.
That doesn't seem to have stopped Hollywood accountants (look up how the actors on Beverly Hillbilly were paid or Art Buchwald, etc.) or the record executives (look up the court decision on "Happy Birthday"). I have no problem at all with personal responsibility, but... if corporations are going to be treated as "legal people" I would love to see a few of them effectively "go to jail" for misdeeds - IOW, have a time out for a year or more where ALL corporate profits, dividends and wages of executives above minimum wage get forfeited directly to the government when the laws that govern REAL legal people get broken AND the execs can't jump ship.
On my software and stuff I've written, I have my own user agreements (EULAs) that are intended to be more fair than copyright to the users. If by some weird off-chance something I've done is actually valuable, fifty years from now the leeches of any estate of mine can suck pond water, it is now public domain.
I have done it, but not for a while and I didn't do a lot of that but I don't think I was stealing because I wouldn't have paid for anything I torrented. Mostly it was books and I used to go to the library and read books for free. That wasn't stealing. I didn't even read the books for the most part so I didn't consume the media.
I did torrent a movie here and there but I wouldn't have bought it. I could have watched it for free at a friends house or waited for it to be available on a streaming sight. I would not have bought it so there was no lost revenue. I would never buy a movie because I only watch them once. I won't even rent anymore because there are other options.
I don't think it is right but it isn't entirely wrong either. In the old days I never bought new books. I would go to the library or buy used. That was never considered 'immoral'.
There is clearly issues that need to be addressed in particular when you consider the pace of technology.
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On my software and stuff I've written, I have my own user agreements (EULAs) that are intended to be more fair than copyright to the users.
It's copyrighted by you Harry, copyright just means you get to decide how you want to handle the licensing. For example the GPL and other licenses are commonly used by open source projects. These allow developers to profit but it's one shot deal. For example you can download phpBB and charge someone for it, they would have to be idiot to pay you but you can do it.
Where the GPL comes in is this, if you alter or customize the script the GPL license applies to the work you have done. You can then sell it to the client but once that happens licensing control of it is out of your hands. In this case copyright law is being used to enforce open source.
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If by some weird off-chance something I've done is actually valuable, fifty years from now the leeches of any estate of mine can suck pond water, it is now public domain.
I have read a few legal opions on this and it's not quite clear to me what you expect is what will happen. Public domain typically means the copyright has expired or could not have been copyrighted to begin with. , It's not something that goes away and remains with the work until it expires. It can be transferred to someone or something else. The opinion I read used the example of Grandma sending in a recipe to a magazine, when she dies the copyright is transferred to the heir. If someone publishes that recipe in the present they may be liable for infringement.
It's all going to come down to the licensing. I'm not a lawyer but I believe you are going to need to grant a perpetual and irrevocable license for the life of the copyright to be in the clear.
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