Friday, September 12, 2008

5 Insights on Piracy and morrre

Still curious why there's rampant piracy?

Been reading Kevin's piece on piracy and then saw Nick's post on it, too. And it just got a lot of people thinking and now look who's joined the fray. Kudos to Cliff-ski Harris for his honest effort which may be considered as a noble step to understanding pirates.

Piracy remains a contentious issue. Is it about economics where it is fair that people creating content should be compensated? Then, the question shifts to matters of ownership and harm. Where does the harm befall the most? Record companies or artists?

Few other things to consider:
1. Value. Does value have an effect on why people pirate stuff? If it is something perceptively valuable, is it more tempting for pirates or is it the other way around that because it is perceived as crap that there's really no harm done?

2. It's Technologically Easy. Current technology has made it relatively easy to pirate stuff. Yet, recent findings suggest that even putting DRM ultimately turned-off more people into buying stuff legally.

3. Ethics or Morals and Ideology. Is piracy a revolt of the masses against capitalism? It may be a case of personal beliefs deciding if piracy is something good or bad.

4. Virtual. Curiously, when talking about piracy now, it almost always refers to online piracy that Herr, Pirates of the Seas seems like more of a cinematic adventure when in fact it is still happening right now as ships continue to guard themselves against terrorists of the seas. Does it mean that abstracts and non-physical things are fair game where intellectual property is but a hazy concept?

5. Cropper or Middleman. If you take from the farmer, who toiled the land and worked for every bit of crop, you're guilty as hell of being a thief as compared to sniping away at what you consider as illegal profits from that crappy middleman in suits. Reminds me of Robin Hood who is a thief yet as beloved still that the character remains as a staple in kids books.
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