Los Angeles Says Piracy 'Detrimental to the Public Health, Safety'

[grandpa]

In an ordinance just adopted, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is declaring that piracy "substantially interferes with the interest of the public in the quality of life and community peace, lawful commerce in the county, property values, and is detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare of the county's citizens, its businesses and its visitors." Los Angeles Says Piracy 'Detrimental to the Public Health, Safety' | Threat Level from Wired.com

So, does "piracy" negatively affect "the quality of life and community peace"?

Grandpa h.

[Chaossaber314]

I think piracy has definitely helped enrich the quality of my life... and helped me avoid bad media that I wouldn't have enjoyed paying for.

[Jack]

I have to wonder how much this article is influenced by the presence of so much of the recording industry being headquartered in L.A.

[Gods_Mercenary]

Exactly. I'm a happy data Pirate.

Arrrrrr! Where's the free movies!

[gela]

How on earth does piracy effect our health?

Mabe because I sit at home watching pirated anime instead of exercising...

[Thanatos]

Quote by: gela How on earth does piracy effect our health? Mabe because I sit at home watching pirated anime instead of exercising...

Viewing excessive pirated porn makes one's privates sore and raw, which could lead to infection. Who knows how many innocents have died this way?

On a serious note, piracy is the end of the for-profit entertainment industry. No encryption is unbreakable. Unless they fundamentally change how the net works in very Orwellian ways it just can't be stopped. Game over.

The good news is that it will clean out a lot of the stupid stuff. No more special effects driven action thrillers, no more artificial hip hop culture, no more mass produced sitcoms. Most new films and music will be artistic in nature; Indie films and Myspace bands are the wave of the future. Depending on your perspective this may be good or bad, but definitely incapable of bodily harm.

[Gods_Mercenary]

People like action thrillers and hip hop, as evidenced by their popularity among pirates. I think it'd be unfortunate if the movie industry as we know it truly tanked, because they're the ones who push the technologic limits and do make a good amount of quite good movies, while making money on the bs for the masses.

[Domino]

Thanatos:

On a serious note, piracy is the end of the for-profit entertainment industry. No encryption is unbreakable. Unless they fundamentally change how the net works in very Orwellian ways it just can't be stopped. Game over.

I have a scheme to get around this: receive payment before you release the product. Entrust the finished product to a bank, associate with it an account, and set the amount that must be in the account for the work to be released. Once released, it's freely available to all, and the artist/designer gets their lump sum. The internet renders publishers and distributors obsolete, but allows artists to make a living. The artists' money may come from a million contributors, or from one rich patron, or anything in between.

Of course, an artist/designer would have to have an established name to make money like this, but that is the case, anyway. Release a few free works to carve your market niche, then start charging.