Oops! They're doing it again

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Like we should give a hoot!: So, the NPD group has finally acknowledged that the RIAA?s efforts to thwart file sharing have not been having the desired effect of late. Now I don?t want to get off on a rant here, but since when has the ?threat? of litigation had the power to quash a practice that the majority of society has no problem with? The fact of the matter is that most otherwise ?law abiding? people see nothing wrong with exchanging free music, entertainment, and software files. Indeed, plenty of ?netizens? are downloading with the same reckless abandon as motorists on the 405 traveling at 80+ MPH during the days of the national 55 MPH speed limit. You remember those days don?t you? We crawled along at 55MPH ostensibly, in some vain attempt to conserve gasoline prior to the invention of the SUV. You?ll also recall that when enough people were seen to willfully violate that law it was finally changed. That is the message that should be hitting the legislature loud and clear. Society is ready for a referendum that shifts the non-commercial redistribution of copyrighted materials into the realm of fair use. Any more draconian methods of reigning in this harmless practice will likely have the same effect as trying to ban cursing on the telephone.

True, there may be some incremental loss of revenue to industries affected by file sharing, but that will likely respond well to a combination of better encryption technology and higher quality products that people are actually willing to pay for. Aside from that, a certain amount of digital piracy is not only inevitable; it can actually be good for business. How many graphic design firms are able to hire competent Photoshop experts who cut their teeth on a pirated copy of that software? I?d argue that piracy has worked substantially to Adobe?s advantage.

Now don?t get me wrong here. I think that commercial piracy for profit is one of the biggest economic threats around, and the purveyors of pirated goods for profit need the weight of enforcement to connect like an iron boot to their balls. Likewise, businesses that sell or utilize pirated copyrighted products in their operations need the book thrown at them as well. However, I draw the line at suing the pants off some pimple-faced adolescent for downloading AC/DC?s greatest hits. The penalties allowed under current law are totally disproportionate to the crime, and remind me of the 25 year minimum sentences currently mandated for minor narcotics possession. Our clogged judicial system is already buckling under the weight of medical malpractice and product liability lawsuits along with the occasional rape and murder. And in that context, the illegal swapping of files should not even rate the collective scratching of society?s big hairy ass. Of course that?s just my opinion, I could be wrong.; Posted by: smarti21@... Posted on: 01/16/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use