Rare Good News Day for Irish Company

The world economy is in freefall, and Ireland has been particularly vulnerable to the downturn due to an over-reliance on foreign multi-nationals, i.e. Dell's Limerick Plant closure. However, one piece of good news is that Microsoft has licensed its anti-piracy technology to a Dublin based company, IrishTech. The better news for that company is that Microsoft intends to be a customer. Congratulations, IrishTech, and thanks for the brief respite from the doom and gloom.

Source

Microsoft sheds its third-party anti-piracy technology
(LINK)
The real cost of Dell blow
(LINK)

The "piratebay" Situation, Yet Another Update

Two brief updates for you:

1. Arguments have been made that the judge in the case is not biased, despite being a member of pro-copyright groups. The Swedish Court of Appeals will rule on the matter.

2. One of Sweden's eighteen seats in the European Parliament has been won by the Pirate Party, who garnered 7.1 per cent of the vote. Certainly an interesting development, although one that is unlikely to have a direct impact on the case in hand.

Source

Yo, ho ho! Sweden sends a Pirate to Parliament
(LINK)
Court says Pirate Bay judge not biased
(LINK)

News Roundup - May 2009

1. Billy Bragg calls three-strikes lobbying 'shameful'
(LINK)
2. Danger Mouse seems to want fans to pirate his blocked release
(LINK)
3. Software pirate convicted of DMCA offences
(LINK)
4. Thomas seeks new counsel, RIAA brooks no delay
(LINK)
5. Appeals filed in The Pirate Bay case
(LINK)
6. Hulu recognizes Blighty existence
(LINK)
7. XSS flaws poke ridicule at entertainment industry
(LINK)
8. Google auto-links YouTube, Google accounts
(LINK)
9. US P2P bill aims shackles at browsers, IM
(LINK)
10. Commissioners reveal plans to harmonise EU copyright laws
(LINK)
11. European Parliament vetoes telecoms reform, demands court order for ISP disconnection
(LINK)
12. Limewire addresses Washington's concerns; gives P2P users new sharing tools
(LINK)
13. The disruptive tectonic forces at the intersection of technology and media
(LINK)
14. Pirate Bay verdict dismissed safe harbors, comparison with Google
(LINK)
15. YouTube swot beats ambulance to birth
(LINK)
16. Could Disney's investment in Hulu upset the iTunes applecart?
(LINK)
17. Digital Piracy Spreads to Literature
(LINK)
18. Web-Based Fan Film Raises IP Questions
(LINK)
19. YouTube flooded with porn
(LINK)
20. US lawmakers put Canada, Spain on piracy 'watch list'
(LINK)
21. P2P study: Music crackdown is bad for business
(LINK)

A Conspiracy Theory

"To get what you want, STOP doing what isn't working"(1)

"The time to stop a revolution is at the beginning, not the end"(2)

According to Nielsen ratings (HERE) the most popular cable television show in America is "The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick, with almost 7 million viewers. When you enter the search term 'watch "the closer" online free" in Google you return 963,000 hits. Clicking on some of these links will bring you to websites where full episodes have been posted by other individuals. You can watch these episodes, hosted on websites such as youtube and dailymotion, for free, without commercial breaks and whenever you choose.

My question is this: if I can find these links, why can't the copyright holders who are demanding more draconian copyright protections for their content?

It is so easy to find the allegedly infringing material that it would appear that copyright holders are not actively seeking these links, perhaps tolerating them because they build up a wider audience for their shows, as well as generating discussions amongst internet communities with the result that word of mouth increases the show's ratings.

Copyright holders seems to be having their cake and eating it too. Gaining more legislative protection for their content while also gaining more customers. Perhaps new legislation is not what copyright holders should be concerned with, instead they should police the web themselves and utilise the current legislative framework to protect their interests.

At least TNT and many other cable networks have realised that jumping on board the new technology is more profitable than not, and they have made "The Closer" available on their own website supported by online advertising.

Footnotes

(1) Earl Warren
(2) Adlai E. Stevenson

A Call for Some Imagination

“If you have ten thousand regulations you destroy all respect for the law”(1)

Old media industries are facing a tough time because they are simply unwilling to adapt to survive. The arrival of the internet has meant that news and entertainment are virtually instantaneous with the result that traditional forms of the media are struggling to keep up and maintain a healthy profit level. The reaction has not been to call for progress, but instead to demand an increase in copyright protection through over-reaching legislation. Which is great for the lawyers involved, but does nothing for the end-user of the copyright material.

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend”(2)

Traditional media has been forced to evolve because of new technology before. When television arrived with its ability to relay the most up to date news to a large population, print media adapted and began to focus on providing commentary to the days events rather than the facts. Being unwilling to change will not prevent the change from occurring, instead copyright holders will be unable to tap into the growing market and will lose valuable potential revenue. This has been recognised by internet service providers in Ireland when they said: “The ISPAI is disappointed that the great potential of the internet, to provide opportunities to connect with users in new ways and develop new business models, is being missed by the music recording industry.”(3)

My suggestion would be to embrace the progress that the internet is bringing, both in terms of lowering distribution/production costs and in terms of the wider audience that can be reached. Forget drafting laws and treaties which are ineffective and inefficient. After all, the law is not designed to keep pace with new technologies. Instead, adapt your approach to doing business in the digital age, and then the government can draft laws that compliment the new era, not just try to impede its arrival.

Footnotes

(1) Winston Churchill quotes (thinkexist.com/quotation/if_you_have_ten_thousand_regulations_you_destroy/150122.html)
(2) Abraham Lincoln quotes (thinkexist.com/quotation/the_best_way_to_destroy_an_enemy_is_to_make_him_a/12577.html)
(3) Internet body labels IRMA legal threat ‘spurious’ (www.siliconrepublic.com/news/article/12506/comms/internet-body-labels-irma-legal-threat-spurious)

Source

Disney, YouTube forge video distribution pact
(LINK)
CD sales drop, digital downloads on the rise
(LINK)
When the Internet and TV take on print media, it’s a global battle
(LINK)

UPDATE - 22 August 2009

Traditional media producers are being forced to reevaluate their current business models in light of the effectiveness of online advertising.

Source

Bad news for TV as studies show online ads are more effective
(LINK)

News Roundup - April 2009

1. LOTR fan film set for net premiere
(LINK)
2. Google, Books and the Nature of Evil
(LINK)
3. Disney joins the Hulu club; No. 2 in videos viewed likely
(LINK)
4. RealDVD hearing: Don't block the software because of what-ifs
(LINK)
5. Best Buy to sell vinyl records?
(LINK)
6. Analysis: Google Losing Up To $1.7M a Day on YouTube
(LINK)

The "piratebay" Situation, An Update

Today the verdict was in, and the result is prison for the Piratebay. The jail terms handed down, of one year each, have been described by some commentators as merely of symbolic significance in Sweden, and of no legal significance at all in the rest of the world(1).

Google, responding to fears that it could be charged with a similar crime to the one leveled at the Piratebay, stated that it "is like a highway on which people drive - and is not responsible for bad drivers"(2).

Footnotes

(1) http://out-law.com/default.aspx?page=9954
(2) http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/apr/28/pirate-bay-file-sharing