Piracy and its Consequences
Pirated films are a breach of the artistic freedom of filmmakers, which results in a lack of income, a violation of intellectual property law, demoralization of artists, and a system of impunity; moreover, the release of pirated films serves to encourage films and also serves as an example of how much people really enjoy watching movies but cannot afford them. Pirated movies are an infringement on copyright laws since each country has its specific laws which protect the creative rights of the moviemakers. As per the copyright law, an individual, as well as an entity, must not distribute the creative works that belong to another individual without a written consent or direct authorization from the owner. The pirated movies are distributed without the permission of their owners; hence, the movie piracy appears to be the direct violation of the copyright law.
Impact on Revenue and Demoralization of Artists
The loss of the revenues is staggering to the creative works owners because the most popular movies can be accessed free and downloaded in their millions through illegal pirate sites, what represents a number of copies that could have been legitimately sold to earn their honored revenue. The amount of revenue lost to the movie industry is approximated in billions of dollars.
The loss of the honored revenues of actors leads to their demoralization as it discourages both current and aspiring artists. This can have some negative impacts on the creative sector of the nation. The artists contribute to the country by adding to the taxable base of the economy. From this perspective, the country loses its revenue as well. When a sector of the economy is successful, the whole country benefits.
Ease of Piracy and Impunity
Last but not least, pirating movies has become easier with online streaming services and torrent clients as the online services allow copying and sharing movies illegally. Additionally, it has become harder for the culprits to be caught because they are able to download the movies impunitly (Geddes). The impunity is what has prompted some media houses to rise up against certain websites as well as individuals in their crackdown on the piracy. Many websites, such as kick ass torrents, were openly sharing copyrighted content despite warnings not to do so (Cs.stanford.edu).
Arguments for Pirated Movies
Pirated movies are means of promotion as they help to spread a movie to the world. When it comes to buying movies, people often experience an apprehension: what if the movie turns to be bad or a trailer oversells it? These are the typical questions movie buyers and moviegoers frequently ask themselves. Some people only buy movies they have already seen as they are afraid of being frustrated if a movie they had bought turns into waste of time and money. From this point of view, some people download movies illegally and if they like one, they get a legitimate copy.
In some cases, the revenue losses through the movie piracy are an indication of the potential market which movie makers are missing out due to a number of factors. These factors are the cost, accessibility, and availability. From such a viewpoint, the movie piracy gives the movie makers a segment to work on. As a matter of fact, some software manufacturers have abandoned the whole concept of pursuing pirates and focused on promoting the software in order to convert the pirates into a revenue earned.
Lots of movie piracy proponents claim that art should be freely accessible and shareable without any restrictions. However, people should respect artists' work as well as should not alter in a manner that shall deprive the artists of their honored credit. From this perspective, the movie piracy proponents argue that sharing the content is fine but altering it or taking credit for it unlawfully is the real crime (Debate.org).
Solution to the Movie Piracy
There are several measures that should be taken in order to curb the piracy; some of the measures are persuasive, while others are harsh. The persuasive measures involve better advertising and civil education initiatives. The harsh methods involve hunting down the offenders with the help of ISPs as well as the law enforcement agencies.
Conclusion
The copyright infringement in its various forms is harmful to the creators of the content. Movie piracy deprives them of the rights associated with their works, for example, the revenue and the recognition as the lawful distributor. However, the piracy also shows the potential market what the movie makers are missing out. Essentially, the pirates are people who are interested in the content but due to some personal reasons cannot access it easily. It is important for the movie makers to understand the dynamics of the movie piracy and to decide on the method to use for decreasing the piracy. I am of the opinion that pirated movies are not bad intrinsically. As long as an individual does not claim to take credit for another individual's work, they can enjoy it and share movies freely.
Works Cited
Cs.stanford.edu. The Ethics of Piracy. Web. Jan. 28, 2017.
Debate.org. Should piracy be legal? 2017. Web. Jan. 28, 2017.
Geddes, James. Kickass Torrents Return: Pirate Bay, ExtraTorrent, Rarbg, Torrentz2, 1337x Stay Top Sites As KAT Falters, Here's Why. Web. Jan. 28, 2017.
