Quote:
Originally Posted by Typhoid
So who exactly is against this; the spread of media for free.
Is it the people who would profit the most off of it (The 'corporations'), or is it the people who are making the music/art/movie?
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That depends on what type of "media" you're referring to because it has so many different meanings. It is hard to draw a line.
For example: (This is 100% opinion)
1) Jane jailbreaks her iphone and downloads hundreds of dollars of music for free that was intended to be sold. - Should Jane go to jail? No. Should Jane be fined? Yes, and the fine should be no more then the amount an average american makes in a month. And for first time offenders, if they can provide details on how they obtained their pirated materials then the fine should be waved.
2) Jane purchases a music track legally, but then she turns around and makes a music video with the sound playing for youtube. Should she go to Jail? I'd still say no. Should she be fined? No, that would be youtube's legal issue to deal with because they provided the forum to post the video. Unless they can prove that Jane profited from posting such a video it's on the site.
3) Jane purchases a music track legally. The track is 6 minutes long, but she uses a 2 minute exert of the track as background music for something she puts on MegaUpload. Should she go to Jail? Nope. Should she be fined? Nope. Once again, it depends on if she profited from placing that video up. If she used the music to sell a product or promote a website that she gets a paycheck from, then fine her.
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I guess to sum it up. I have a problem with individuals being harshly punished for obtaining or using copywrited material. I have the samethoughts on the war on drugs, even though listening to stolen music is less harmful then being hyped up on meth and being on the streets.
Yes individuals should be held accountable IF they're directly stealing content or using it in the pursuit of profit. But stopping the people who enable it is a lot more important.