| PIRACY IS A SERIOUS OFFENSE. |
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Pirates are thieves, plain and simple. Piracy is the unauthorized taking, copying or use of copyrighted materials without permission. It is no different from stealing another person's shoes or stereo, except sometimes it can be a lot more damaging. Piracy is committed in many ways, including Internet piracy, copying and distribution of discs, broadcasts, and even public performances. Downloading movies without the authorization of copyright holders is a growing international phenomenon, and it has serious consequences.
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People often steal movies on the Internet because they believe they are anonymous and will not be held responsible for their actions. They are wrong. Illegal distribution of digital movie and music files on the Internet is a serious crime, and individuals who engage in piracy via the Internet can easily be tracked. The movie and music industry has and is taking a firm stance against Internet thieves who steal millions of dollars in copyrighted material with complete disregard for the law.
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| WHAT IS INTERNET PIRACY? |
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Internet piracy is the downloading or distribution of unauthorized copies of intellectual property such as movies, television, music, games and software programs via the Internet. Illegal downloads occur in many forms including file sharing networks, pirate servers, websites and hacked computers. Each file posted on the Internet can result in millions of downloads. Hard goods pirates also use the Internet to sell illegally duplicated DVDs through auctions and websites.
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| WHAT IS OPTICAL DISC PIRACY? |
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Optical disc piracy is the illegal manufacturing, sale, distribution or trading of copies of motion pictures in digital disc formats including DVD, DVD-R, CD, CD-R and VCD. These illegal hard goods are sold on websites, online auction sites, via e-mail solicitation and by street vendors and flea markets around the world. Much like downloadable media, the pirated motion pictures in hard goods format are typically poor quality video camera recordings.
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| ALL FORMS OF PIRACY ARE ILLEGAL AND CARRY SERIOUS LEGAL CONSEQUENCES. |
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Manufacturing, selling or distributing motion pictures or television programs and music without the consent of the copyright owner is illegal. There are a growing number of legal ways to download movies and music from the Internet. Also, consumers can rent or buy DVDs all around the world from legitimate business operations.
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| PIRACY HURTS ECONOMIES |
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The movie and music industry provides jobs, revenue and an export surplus for the economy. Piracy hurts economies everywhere movies and music is sold, displayed or broadcast. The worldwide motion picture and music industry, including foreign and domestic producers, distributors, theaters, video stores and pay-per-view operators lose a lot of revenue as a result of piracy.
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Film and music theft has an enormous impact on filmmakers and music makers everywhere from New Zealand to South Africa and jeopardizes the creative process and while robbing local economies of the benefits derived from having a healthy film and music industry.
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| PIRACY HURTS THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY |
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The average motion picture cost the MPAA member companies $96.2 million to make and market in 2005. Six out of ten movies never recoup their original investment. Fewer movies will be made and fewer creative risks will be taken if piracy continues to rob those who invest in movies.
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| PIRACY HURTS THE CONSUMERS |
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For consumers to continue to experience the variety and quality of movies they expect, piracy must be controlled. The entertainment industry recognizes the potential of technology to deliver content in new and exciting ways. However, the looming threat of piracy can thwart innovation.
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| COPY PROTECTION TECHNOLOGIES |
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Many entertainment companies use copy protection technologies to protect their films and music against theft and some delivery systems for film and music content already use some form of copy protection, including DVDs (which use the Content Scrambling System), PPV, dedicated DSL set-top boxes, cable set top boxes, digital encryption encoding of satellite signals and videocassettes (which contain Macrovision).
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Copy protection benefits consumers as well as the industry because without these safeguards, the industry would not be able to release their high-quality digital content without the fear of widespread and rampant piracy. For instance, with PPV, because of the copy protection, there is a level of assurance that the movies won't be copied freely so movies can be offered at a very reasonable price considering the cost of making the product.
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The motion picture industry has pursued those who distribute devices that break copy protection in any format. While no technology has yet proven foolproof, the industry continues to implement protection technologies which raise the threshold of difficulty and expense for the pirate and therefore help reduce piracy.
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| SO WHAT CAN I DO? |
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Whether you're a consumer, a parent, or an educator, there are many positive, proactive ways to deal with the problem of piracy.
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Consumers
There are plenty of sites that offer legal downloads. You can also get showtimes and tickets online. Lots of options are available for you to buy or rent movies/music. And thanks to the many resources on the Internet, you can become better informed about the issues.
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Parents
Learning about copyrights can be fun as well as informative. It's easy to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts at such sites as www.copyrightkids.org. Then, see how to involve your kids hands-on in copyrighting their own works of art! When youngsters find out the benefits of copyright for themselves, they'll be less likely to disrespect the property rights of others.
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Educators
Check out the clever, engaging and fun activities in the copyright awareness curriculum of Junior Achievement, Inc. and especially all the special activity plans, interactive lessons, informative materials and games in the piracy education section called What's the Diff? Another great, easy-to-understand place for you and your students to explore the world of copyright is www.copyrightkids.org.
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