Have the French figured out how to stop internet piracy?

I really can't see this working. Pirates are always 10 steps ahead of regulations anyways... if this goes through, they'll find a way to hack around it.

You can't hack your way around anything without an ISP of some kind.

Honestly, I think all these attempts to get rid of internet piracy are only ignoring the root of the problem. In general, media costs too much and is too hard to access on a whim, which is why anyone bothers to pirate media in the first place. If companies would get with the times and start offering affordable ways for people to access the media they pay for not just physically, but also online and in file form on their computer, rates of internet piracy would drastically decrease. Sometimes I just want to go online and watch a streaming movie in high quality and not pay an arm and a leg. I don't want to go out and buy the DVD. Is that so much to ask for?

That's a great thought Allsunday, but it's not true at all. iTunes charges a VERY fair price for music... most artists who sell their stuff on there don't even get enough back to make a living. While they've enjoyed decent sales, they have not hampered illegal downloading. People do not steal media in the first place because they want it to be cheaper; they steal it because they don't want to bother paying for it at all. Steve Jobs was right when he said that if you charge a fair price, people will pay it. But that doesn't mean ENOUGH people... just some.

Movies and music aren't cheap to make by the way. Don't be fooled by the major record companies... the fact is that most great bands out there get little to nothing for their efforts. They aren't all rich like Metallica.

There's quite a few ISP's out there now! And in all honesty, it's quite simple to hide your tracks if you know how.

I heard someone else describe it best... "It's like running from a bear... just make sure someone else is slower than you!"

Do ALL the artists actually get anything from iTunes? I assumed it was the record labels who actually OWN the rights to their stuff. Radiohead never agreed to release a "Best Of..." compilation, that was pure EMI muck-slinging.

Likewise, I have read of many bands who have come unstuck in this digital era as the concept of distributing music digitally wasn't even fathomable when it was originally released. Therefore, there's nothing in their contract that states they're entitled to a dime.

Enter Radiohead stage left...

Regarding the MacWorld article... it refers to consumers aged 9-14... a TINY fraction of the market. Music sales have NEVER relied on that age range, and have always been far more heavily geared toward older (even 15 and up) people. "Tweens" are not the real issue here, and that very article goes on to say, "However, even though iTunes is making gains against piracy, the issue of illegally sharing music is still strong."

Here are a few more articles to consider:

http://www.sj-r.com/homepage/x1197761360/Illegally-downloading-music-no-big-deal-to-some-teens

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/news-by-subject/school-administration/index.cfm?i=55811

http://www.sbpost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=MEDIA+AND+MARKETING-qqqs=mediaandmarketing-qqqid=36990-qqqx=1.asp

Remember that a big reason for the increase in legal downloads is the decrease in CD sales... people who do like to pay (such as myself) are switching over. Nothing says that CD sales and legal downloads COMBINED are higher than illegal downloads. This is just a market shift from one medium to another as CDs approach their final years.

Also, 62% of people who ordered In Rainbows from Radiohead's own website decided to pay nothing for it. Numerous people illegally downloaded it from other sources too, in spite of the option of getting it legally for free. If you were right that people would all be willing to pay a fair price, then more people would have done so when they had the option. Instead, more people chose not to pay because they didn't have to.

You're right that it's not rocket science. People can get something for free or they can pay for it... it's pretty obvious what many people will continue to do.

Fail.

I can't wait for them to stop the pirating, then everyone will buy Zunes and this stupid ipod thing will end.

A law like this, one whose punishment is carried out through an e-mail, would never get passed in the states, don't you think?

E-mail warnings? Please, I'd just flag it as spam along with the rest of my bills. I don't see this happening anytime soon. Pirates exist in all forms. Whether they're disrupting British Shipping Lanes, uploading music and movies for everyone else, or showing us how to take advantage of product exploits. So ARRRRR Maties!!!

i truly hope people will start realizing how much goes into the production of a good - whether it is a car or a song. the artificial prices that we have enjoyed, especially since increased global production and offshoring, are unsustainable and it is about time that people start paying true costs!

they cant stop us all!

I don't think comcast would be willing to loose that many customers. It's more profitable to ISPs to collect monthly fees from pirating subscribers than to just cut them off.

Also, imagine all the kids who would download illegal content, shutting down their parent's connection. What about internet cafes- a few people get caught pirating, and the cafe's connection is shut down.

I don't see this working in the US.

If you want free music, go to the library. A good sized urban library will have a huge music collection and its not illegal to burn the cds onto your computer. Take that corporate world!

Good luck to the French. It would not fly here in America.
Sites like HULU are enjoying success through advertisements . Myspace, likewise. Veoh is another one.
All of the trusted sites have struck deals with the big Media corporations.
Besides, take a search of google, and google video. You can find almost anything you want. Whether you wish to download it, or just watch it in stream.

Isnt this like the American judicial system where if you get 3 sentences and you are jailed for life? Did it stop crime??? I dont think so... Not gonna solve anything...besides...only fools get caught.Natural selection also rules the internet..Survival of the fittest!
Peace

I never really understood the difference between borrowing a friend's copy, or a library copy and making one for your personal use. If someone buys a book then lends it to me to read am I not entitled to read it? I grew up with hundreds of BETA and VHS tapes copied for a home library from VHS rentals, TV, and borrowing from friends. That was a whole industry based on copies. Then the digital revolution came along making it even easier to share media and all of a sudden it's illegal because you can now share with more people on a global level. Now if I made copies and started selling them, ya that's a problem. You shouldn't profit from someone else's work... however I did see a Current TV clip a about a photographer who took pictures of graffiti and displayed them and sold them as art... he didn't make the graffiti but was profiting from someone else's work because he made a copy of it... and those artists had no rights either.

No. It cannot be stopped.

Lol, massive internet piracy. Let me tell you of my experience, I was given an opportunity to work on research to produce a report for a congressional hearing. Our research was to examine in depth the claims made by the RIAA to Congress.

To the letter, EVERY ONE of their reported findings, sited studies, etc. were misreported, misstated, or an out right lie. I kid you not; EVERY ONE of their claims was a fabrication.

I’m not to say that piracy isn’t real. I’m saying the actual numbers of such acts is far different and lower than what the RIAA would have you believe

lol... rogers caught me downloading 3 times.. with 3 warnings.. and i got off the hook.. then i got cox.. they caught me 2wice.. got off the hook.. lol although cox made a lot more effort to convince me not to download..

I think the internet revolution is still in its infancy and soon this whole problem will be fixed when there is no need to create and produce materials like albums or DVDs. I can't WAIT until every book version is digital... books eat up all my money.

ok, i guess ill just torrent from the Mcdonalds wifi and get them shut down... and then all the other free wifi places i have around me. This solution will not stop anything.