To let your offspring have access to pirated material?

[Tak3n]

On Friday I had a text from one of my friends saying how their kids teacher had come to school with a pirated copy of Avengers in for the kids to watch on the last day of term.. (they were 14 years old)

Which got me thinking; do you now think Piracy is so "the norm" that by not letting your kids see the films early etc etc that you are almost excluding them from school ground talk..

I know I have to put my hands up and say I always get my 4 year old the latest films for kids, but obviously he does not understand where they come from, and I am not sure when he is old enough if I should stop and explain to him how things work properly.. i.e cinema/rental or if it is now the way of the world to watch pirated material.

I'm with Fizz in that it doesn't help that the law is an ass. Fwiw, we don't (and I don't think would ever) download, but we do format shift. We have plenty of films that have bought on DVD and have put into various formats to use on different devices. I don't believe that is wrong, afaik the illegality is a technicality due to the fact that copyright laws were drafted for the written word and works of art and so see a format change as a change/enhancement of the original (ie plagiarism, trying to pass off someone else's ideas as your own), rather than what it fundamentally is - a copy for personal use in a technically evolving world.

I suppose I did pirate something the other day - my DD2 has a ballet exam coming up. She was lent an "official" practice DVD for a week, on a strict rota basis. Her sister was unexpectedly hospitalised for a fortnight so she couldn't practice that week. I copied the DVD instead so that she could practice once DD1 was out of hospital. I don't believe that was wrong either, though technically it's piracy as we didn't own the DVD at the time we were lent it and two copies will be (briefly) in existence.

Your attitude is that you have some inherent human "right" to own music and films for free.

No, it isn't. I'm not sure how you can justify trying to tell me my own attitude towards something.

I own films on DVD that I have downloaded in the past. I own TV Boxsets of series that I have downloaded in the past. If I just wanted things for free, how do you rationalise away that fact?

If people really want to watch the film as soon as it's out they go to the cinema. I think people download CAMs if they aren't fussed about the film.

I also think we need to separate the arguments about film, TV, and music. There is a difference in the reasons for downloading and the impact on the respective industries.

Off the top off my head, I can't think of any reason for music piracy other than not paying for it. You can listen to the songs on the radio, build up online playlists, and eventually buy individual tracks to download to mp3s/iPods. You no longer have to buy a whole album for the few songs you really like. Artists lose out on royalties on downloads.

I buy and download.

I'd have no problems with my kids doing the same.

See previous posts where I explained what I do for a living and then comment.

You work for a movie producer. Well done.
Are you privy to all the inner workings of the entire industry?

Again JosephineCD - good point!

The teacher should be reported. The kids will be aware it's a pirate copy (such a new film) and this is a poor example to set them. I'm quite surprised the teacher would risk doing this.

Ivanttobealone- your reasons for not choosing to go to the cinema or buy legal DVDs are your choice, it still doesn't mean that you have the right to download those films for free that the rest of us are paying to see. That is what really gets my goat- some of us are paying for what you simply choose to take for free. If you hate the morals of the film industry that much, don't watch their films! It's so hypocritical to slag them off and then use their products anyway.

I don't download because I want stuff for free. I download because I am lazy and the shops are all the way over there and my PC is just here.

I pay for the music I download because it's reasonably priced and I get to keep the copy I download.

I pay for the xbox games I download directly onto my xbox, because again they are reasonably priced and I get to keep it.

I pay for the PC games the kids play via a game club I pay into for the same reasons.

There is nothing similar, afaik, available for films and TV series, bar itunes, which I do not find to be so reasonable in pricing. I could get a hard copy for the same price. Downloading should be cheaper, you are using less materials.

They would cease to exist in their current form. People would still produce art, but it would no longer be under the control of six megacorporations.
Sounds like an improvement to me.

Despite previous - a very good point to make.

Then how do you explain my extensive DVD collection?

You nicked them from Tesco. :P

You nicked them from Tesco.

Well, I was young...

doinmecleanin- I'm not talking about legal downloading where you pay for stuff, I'm talking about illegal downloading where you don't pay for stuff. I'm not posting on this topic any more, it's irritating me far more than posting on the internet should.

LucieMay I see your point totally and then I see mine. It is a strange one given that when you download you don't actually 'get' anything. If downloading was not around I would probably borrow a film from somebody.

IMO I honestly would not see these films if I couldn't DL them. And if it makes it any better I only choose ones that came out last year or previous and have been major successes. When IMDB tells me that a film grossed $65m when the budget was $5m......I don't feel bad. =/

it's irritating me far more than posting on the internet should.

I'm guessing that's because we're messing up your handy-dandy black and white views on piracy?

I know that. That is what I am saying. I download legally where I am able to and the prices are reasonable.

I download illegally, where a legal alternative is either not availble or not reasonably priced, imo.

I don't do it because I want the stuff for free I do it because I want the stuff now and I am too lazy to walk to the shops and I don't want to pay the same price as I would for a hard copy, because frankly, that's taking the piss. Plus I never buy new, only second hand, so downloading films from itunes, would cost me more than I'd spend on a hard copy if I had the energy to walk to the shop.

You work for a movie producer. Well done.
Are you privy to all the inner workings of the entire industry?

sunscorch Ask away! Yes I am. Have done so for 7 years.

Ask away! Yes I am. Have done so for 7 years.

How do you know that advertising revenue was not a part of the decision to malign online distribution?

Just a musing here..

But isn't downloading music in a way good for the industry? Because you're not telling me everyone who downloads would have gone out and bought the album were they not able to download. It gives people a chance to get to like artists and their albums, make fans out of them, they could then to on to get tickets, buy merch etc.

Just a thought, not trying to advocate it but there you go.

I work in CEX and I can tell you that the origins of a lot of the stock are considerably more dodgy than downloaded films.

sunscorch Because the person I work for made his money from something else in TV. NOT advertising. He is independent. Next?

Because the person I work for made his money from something else in TV. NOT advertising. He is independent. Next?

But the person you work for isn't representative of the entire industry, so I don't see the relevance.

I can't help it if you are a sucker for advertising by the way...

But the person you work for isn't representative of the entire industry, so I don't see the relevance

Really? You know him do you?! Gosh well that makes two of us. And if you did, you would realise that your point is redundant.

It's funny how a lot of artists SUPPORT this illegal downloading. Because it gives them exposure and gets the stuff out to the fans. It tends to be those who own their label who kick off, and obviously all other labels. Interesting.