What is Internet Piracy?
Internet piracy is the downloading or distribution of unauthorized copies of intellectual property such as movies, television, music, games and software programs via the Internet. Illegal downloads occur in many forms including file sharing networks, pirate servers, websites and hacked computers. Each file posted on the Internet can result in millions of downloads. Hard goods pirates also use the Internet to sell illegally duplicated DVDs through auctions and websites.
Piracy is theft, and pirates are thieves, plain and simple. Downloading a movie off of the Internet is the same as taking a DVD off a store shelf without paying for it. In 2005, MPAA studios lost $2.3 billion worldwide to Internet piracy alone. Posting movies on a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) service or an unauthorized website is akin to giving illegal copies to millions of people.
The Global Avalanche of Internet Piracy
The primary source of newly released pirated movies comes from thieves who camcord films in theaters. Illegally recorded movies are then sold to individuals who distribute them around the world through computer servers known as "Topsites." The extraordinary speed and power of a Topsite triggers the avalanche that is global Internet piracy.
What are Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing Services?
A peer-to-peer service is a network that enables computers to connect directly to each other in order to distribute and copy files. Software programs utilize these networks to search for and trade every kind of file. Examples of P2P services include eDonkey, KazaA, Limewire and DirectConnect. These programs can turn your computer into a directory and distributor of an unlimited variety of illegal material, viruses and worms.
When you download a file from the P2P services, you're not just receiving stolen goods. You're now a dealer, responsible for all the violations that others are enabled to commit as a result. Besides putting yourself at risk of the legal consequences of illegally distributing movies, you're opening your computer up to potentially dangerous situations. By inviting complete strangers to access your hard drive, you risk exposing your private information such as bank records, social security numbers and personal pictures. You also make yourself vulnerable to identity theft and possibly a whole lot more. In addition, you are exposing your computer to harmful viruses, worms, Trojan horses and annoying pop-ups.
What's it to Me?
If you use peer-to-peer file-sharing services, you are almost certainly exposing your computer to harmful viruses, worms, Trojan horses and annoying pop-ups, and you are inviting strangers to access your private information. Since many P2P applications require users to upload — often invisibly — content at the same time they are downloading, you may be exposing yourself to criminal liability as well. And in a larger sense, you are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of ordinary working people, as well as potentially reducing the number of films that are actually made. Last but not least, you're cheating yourself out of the movie experience. Is it really worth all that to save the price of a movie ticket?
What is the MPA Doing to Combat the Problem?
The MPA has a multi-pronged approach to fighting Internet piracy, which includes educating people about the consequences of piracy, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure that advanced technologies will allow the legal distribution of movies over the Internet. Since November of 2004, individuals who have infringed copyrights in motion pictures and television programs over the Internet have been sued for those infringements in lawsuits in the smallest of towns and the biggest of cities. Damages for copyright infringement range from $30,000 to $150,000 per work and, if there is criminal prosecution, could include up to five years in jail.
Legal Alternatives
As a consumer, there are plenty of sites that offer legal downloads such as CinemaNow, Vongo, ifilm, Movielink, Movieflix, AtomFilms, iTunes video and more. You can also get show times and tickets for movies playing in local theatres online. There are also many options available to buy or rent movies without even having to leave your home. For students, services such as Cdigix and Ruckus are becoming readily available on college and university campuses across the nation.
What can I Do?
People who download pirated films or buy them on DVD or VCD are in effect signing on as conspirators in a theft. Few people would ever dream of shoplifting a DVD from a video store. But for some reason, some of the same people who would not dream of walking out of a shop not having paid for a DVD seem to think it is okay to download an online copy of a movie that they didn't pay for. Or a movie they were willing to pay a criminal for, but not the copyright owner. Why? Perhaps it's because the movie industry produces creative products — intellectual property — as opposed to products that people can touch and feel. For some reason, these products make some people feel more comfortable with the act of taking something without paying for it.