Module 5 – Info-Communication Concepts

Piracy is Good?

After reading the articles and the YouTube of “Piracy is Good?” I realise the winner always on the viewer’s side, they have a choice of watching from TV (for free) or downloading from internet (for free) like using BitTorrent or other downloading programs.

The problem is people have too many choice or way of getting piracy stuff from internet or pirated DVD etc. I still remember when I first come to Australia to study during 90s and some of the movies showing few months later I was watching from the cinema from where I am from.

When I am settling down later in Australia I guess I know why. It is all about piracy, some of the movies and TV programs showing so late in Australia because I believe the piracy here weren’t as bad as Asia and US, therefore they can hold it for a while. I am from Asia so I know how bad it is and I guess whoever been to Asia country for holiday I am pretty sure you will see the pirated DVD movies or TV programs selling everywhere and cheap, some of the quality is much better than the original DVD. Sometime you may be able to get the latest movie from pirated DVD before it show on cinema.

This happen back then, but now we all talk about downloading from internet. The same things happen like you can watch the latest movie or TV program right after it finish from the other country, you just have to search it from internet and you will be able to download it, how convenience!

Piracy not just limited on movies and TV programs, it actually happens to musics and softwares. Now a day movies can’t just rely on the box office they have to depend on other merchandising like games, toys, books, and sponsors etc. to make more money. TV programs can’t rely on TV commercial too much; they are getting a new way of injecting the new idea on TV screen like watermark of the company or product on screen, the reason is people may download the program instead of watch from TV; therefore they can fast forward the commercial. According to the “Piracy is Good” from YouTube and the articles, they are downloading to watch whenever and wherever on any devices they want, they are not limited themselves only to TV.

Music industrial having the same problem, they are too many way of getting the song from internet. You can choose to download a whole album or pick any song you like to download. Singers and the music company making less money from the album, so they have to do touring around the world of making more money from the fans, sponsors etc. You also can find the full version of softwares to download from internet for free instead of paying few hundred to few thousand just to get one copy. Technology changes very often so that people prefer to download it for personal use. However software industrial maybe the one less impact for the piracy because many of the company will prefer to use original then pirated, in term of less problem of the software and legal issue.

The technology of BitTorrent is one the best invention to sharing files around the world, but it just happen for the people to use it for piracy purpose. This definitely is good for people who downloading files from internet for free and sure not good for the company who spend millions and million to make it and develop it. The bigger question is when will piracy end or it will be never end? I guess we still have a very long way to go and find out.


Reference
Allen, M., et al. (n.d.). Module 5: Info-Communication Concepts. Curtin University of Technology. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_18825_1&content_id=_985244_1

Pesce, M. (2005). Piracy is Good? How Battlestar Galactica Killed Broadcast TV. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from
http://www.mindjack.com/feature/piracy051305.html

Pesce, M. (2005). Piracy is Good? The New laws of Television. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://www.mindjack.com/feature/newlaws052105.html

Piracy is Good? (2007). YouTube. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxCoCTc3T5Q&feature=related