WTO Sanctioned Piracy

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Har Har

During a meeting in Geneva today the World Trade organization (WTO) authorized Antigua’s request to suspend U.S. copyrights. The decision confirmed the preliminary authorization the Caribbean island received in 2007, and means that the local authorities can move forward with their plan to start a download portal which offers movies, music and software without compensating the American companies that make them.

Hope they provide a good service, something like a good library catalogue by year, actor/artist, genre and sales would be nice for starters, the rest of the world will be grateful.

[giblets]

How do you propose that the production of movies, software and music gets funded if nobody pays for it?

[Aeson]

Is it really piracy if it's sanctioned? Shouldn't it be called privateering instead? I just privateered me some Disney movies

(I just want to say I am deeply disappointed this thread is about copyright law and has nothing to do with real pirates.)

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Well high tech these days, we have to pretend, like for everything else.

[Guynemer]

[OneFootInTheGrave]

How do you propose that the production of movies, software and music gets funded if nobody pays for it?

Free market - ever heard of it?

I am personally sure that even if you could download all the movies from Antigua ever, the movies would be selling out in their billions (who are doing so anyhow these days) , and musicians would be filling in the stadiums with millions worth of profit per event... just like they do already.

You only get rid of the middleman, who does not provide a useful service anymore (unlike 40 years ago, they were made techologically obsolete in the meantime), but this is beside the point.

The point is that this is an interesting move by WTO to "punish" US for ignoring a little guy, as they usually do, and the rest of the world may even get to legally benefit from it as a nice side-effect.

[giblets]

So your answer is that musicians should have to tour constantly, film makers should hope that people continue to pay to see movies in theaters when they can view them for free at home, and I guess software developers are simply screwed?

[SlowwHand]

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Musicians can tour - I and most of the world works 40 hours a week (paid, but often considerably more), so? Shouldn't they? Millions await the most successful like they do today. Film makers get their films downloaded by millions today, and their movies still make billions, beating records all the time for what it is worth, even with really rubbish movies like the last Batman.

As for software developers? Did you ever hear of Steam? I am certain it works pretty well, and you can get compensated without anyone suing you to oblivion. Yes it can all work, except that in this latest round the industry dollars won, unlike in the previous Betamax case, we all got a repreive for some time then, but with the advent of the net the legal framework was pushed back in time and not progressed with the rest of society... it will change eventually though, it even is today with services like cloud music from Google, where it pays up front for any "infringing" material uploaded... progress is slow, but why derail the thread - what about this interesting move from WTO - sure will be interesting if Antigua comes up with a good service of their own, something that content industry was supposed to do a decade ago themselves.

edit: to add, as I am off to bed - this legal racket protection is stifling progress, MP3.com did what google cloud music does today, however they did it 10+ years ago. What happened to them? Sued to oblivion - this is 10 years or more lost right there. Also if there was no "hope" in this legal protection racket do you not think that on-line services like Steam would be more plentiful for all sort of content with prices at the right level (as with Steam), years earlier? Sure they would be. Anyhow, it will happen eventually, it will just take more time due to this particular (mostly US) govenment regulatory effort on behalf of lobbyists. The Antigua case though, if it comes to fruition may make the barriers fall faster though, but let's wait and see

[kentonio]

Just on musicians, don't most of them make their real money from touring anyway, as the record companies make the vast bulk of the profits relating to album sales? I'm sure I've read that that's true for all but the very biggest bands.

[Hauldren Collider]

So now we should get to dictate how music companies make their revenue because we're too ****ing cheap to actually pay for **** that we use?

[Guynemer]

It will probably be wise for me not to participate in this thread, lest I become very angry with people I like.

[Dinner]

How do you propose that the production of movies, software and music gets funded if nobody pays for it?

I imagine the government of the island knows no one on the island itself is producing the content and they just want to get someone else's work for free.

[giblets]

I imagine the government of the island knows no one on the island itself is producing the content and they just want to get someone else's work for free.

Yes but why does the WTO think this is a good idea?

[SlowwHand]

Musicians are paid, as strictly an example, 50 million to record 3 CDs over 5 years. The End. The music industry gets a percentage for all blanks sold Googlethe Harvard law study, before you blow a gasket.