We all know about (Internet) piracy and the media industry. We all know how the media industry struggles with todays reality but still thinks that they can survive by clinging on to their old and obsolete business model.
Now, in Holland we have a rather funny way of dealing with copyrights and the legalities of pirated movies/music.
Dutch law says that downloading a pirated movie/music (even though you now you didn’t buy it) is legal.
Yes, you read that right: I can download ANY pirated movie/music without fear of being prosecuted.
Also, making a copy of a movie/CD (in case you did purchase one) for a “personal backup” is a right we have and 100% legal too: as long as you don’t circumvent any anti-copying scheme (which nowadays all movies have; so this right is rather theoretical).
Now, in order to compensate for this “home copy” law (“thuiskopie”), and the downloading of movies, everyone in Holland who buys blank CD’s and DVD’s pays an extra fee – even if they don’t use them to burn illegally obtained materials but just for data-backups.
European lawmakers also want(ed) to tax hard-disks for this reason (but that never passed – yet?).
So indirect, we – in Holland – all pay for downloading illegal movies/music materials (even if you do not participate in this kind of behavior) each and every time you buy blank CD’s/DVD’s. It’s like paying road taxes even though you don’t drive a car.
Now, uploading and sharing pirated materials is 100% illegal. But as a user/downloader, you are not going to to prosecuted. And catching the guys that do upload is way beyond the skills of BREIN.
On a side-note: this policy resembles our Dutch policy in regards to (soft)drugs use: as a drug user you won’t be prosecuted unless you have a quantity on you that is considered to be for drug dealing. Hence you can go to a Coffee shop and buy and smoke cannabis 100% legally.
Anyway: Today BREIN – a special Dutch interest group, paid by the media industry – won a legal battle against FTD a popular download community, that facilitates the downloading of copyrighted materials (not only music/movies but also software).
Even though the practice of downloading isn’t illegal in Holland, a judge ruled that FTD blatantly promotes the uploading of copyrighted materials and uploading is, illegal.
Hence they need to stop showing any copyrighted materials with their software. Off course 99,9% of all materials on FTD are copyrighted. So in effect this will kill FTD unless they come up with an appeal that they win.
Now, FTD had become really popular in the last years as it made it really easy for the masses – with no IT skills – to obtain movies etc..
I think that this is just a stupid strategy of BREIN. I used to buy movies, but I always felt ripped off in many ways.
I mean: go figure, you bought a movie and somehow the industry STILL tries to make you feel like a pirate (click picture below and see what I mean):
Off course the only thing BREIN accomplishes, is that smart people will now just have to come up with an even easier way for people to get their movies but in a way that will make it virtually impossible to prosecute “a community” for it.
It’s the same mistake the Americans make in thinking they can win the war in Afghanistan. You can’t win a war if you can’t get the enemy! (or technically speaking: if everyone IS the enemy).
In short: BREIN just won “a battle”, but will never win the war.
The media industry needs to wake up: adapt, evolve or die!