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Teron writes: I recently rented the film Aliens vs. Predator.
Haven't watched it yet, don't know if it's cr*p or not.
But, when I put the DVD to my PS2 to watch it, up jumps a commercial.
It was that commercial that made me write this.
"You wouldn't steal this, you wouldn't steal that. You wouldn't steal a movie, right? Movie piracy is stealing. Stealing is against the law. Piracy is a crime."
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Now, let's move to a broader scale than just movies. Let's expand to
music and computer software. Both have the same basic setup as the
movie business.
So, on the other side of the fence are the thieves, who deprive an
industry of the profits it deserves. So, what's on the other side?
An industry that gives jacksh*t of it's customers and wants to deprive
them of freedom (Trusted Platform Modules, DRM, and gods alone know
what else).
An industry that cares little for anything that's not called "money".
Hell, they even break the law to ensure that their products couldn't
possibly be used accordingly to the "Fair Use" clauses in most
copyright laws. Prime example being the Sony BMG XCP-DRM scandal.
Now, I don't want to steal. Nor do I want to break the law.
But, even more important than that, I don't want to give up my freedom.
So, what's the solution? DRM? Trusted Platform Modules? No chance in
hell. Piratism? No, unless someone finds a way to turn my morals upside
down.
Point is, a "do-not-circumvent-copy-protection" law was recently passed
here in Finland, which'd essentially make creating a personal backup,
for example, illegal. I'm already frustrated as hell because a CD
record of a band's live performance is copy controlled. Sure, I can
somewhat circumvent the DRM by using dBpowerAMP Music Converter and
telling it to read TOCs like a normal CD player, but I still lose the
first two songs on both discs. Hello, Virgin, I BOUGHT THIS THING TO
LISTEN TO IT. THERE'S NO EULA, SO I TECHNICALLY OWN THE DAMN THING.
Now, Why can't I do what I want with my property?
Should I carry a CD player with me just to play that specific disc,
when, in all sensibility, and by the letter of the Finnish law (before
that idiotic law was passed), I should be allowed to make a couple
electronic copies (iPod+own computer) for my own, personal use? I don't
think so.
So, my options are to either side with the criminals, or to side with
the other criminals. Where's the third side of the fence, where things
make sense? In the movie world, nowhere. In the music world, there's
some, but in rare places. In the software world? the F/OSS movements
seem to be filling the spot.
Thank you for creating a third side of the fence - even if it only stretches for a part of the way. |
I simply don't buy Music CDs that have so-called copy protection on them. Why should I buy CSS-encrypted DVDs if I am not legally allowed to play them on my GNU/Linux machine, then? Remember, nobody can force you to buy that non-free piece of software that's so vital for you. Unfortunately, most people don't care and either just swallow the bitter pill or make illegal copies anyway. Otherwise, a boycott could possibly be effective.