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Senator Applauds Pirate Bay Trial, Chides Canada
eldavojohn writes "Republican Senator Orrin Hatch spoke Tuesday at the World Copyright Summit in Washington DC and hailed the Pirate Bay guilty verdict as an important victory. He expressed severe disappointment in Canada for showing up on our watch list for piracy next to China and Russia. Senator Hatch also said, 'In fact, one study reports that each year, copyright piracy from motion pictures, sound recordings, business and entertainment software, and video games costs the US economy $58 billion in total output, costs American workers 373,375 jobs and $16.3 billion in earnings, and costs federal, state, and local governments $2.6 billion in tax revenue. During this time of economic turmoil, we must ensure that all copyrighted works, both here and abroad, are protected from online theft and traditional physical piracy. After all, US copyright-based industries continue to be one of America's largest and fastest-growing economic sectors.' GamePolitics notes that for his 2006 campaign, Hatch was rented for $7,000 by the RIAA and also got on his knees for $12,640 from the MPAA."
The Right whines and makes up numbers as scare tactics, and the Holy Left appoints the RIAA's attack dogs to run the justice department.
I'm thinking it's time to move to Canada.
'In fact, one study reports that each year, copyright piracy from motion pictures, sound recordings, business and entertainment software, and video games costs the US economy $58 billion in total output, costs American workers 373,375 jobs and $16.3 billion in earnings, and costs federal, state, and local governments $2.6 billion in tax revenue.
I wonder if this number includes the economic benefits gained from people buying extra hard drives, spindles of DVD-Rs, and upgrading their broadband connections to the fastest unlimited connections they can get? Simply looking at it as an economist, neither condemning nor condoning the action of pirating...
Wait, I thought there was a special tax in Canada on blank media that the government just handed over to the RIAA-equivalent.
Yes, I live in Utah.
Yes, I am Mormon.
Yes, I really dislike Orin Hatch.
Well said. Kinda hard to feel bad for Media conglomerates when most of them own ISPs who are quite happy to advertise their wares in terms of "fast access to media".
Somebody's making money, and it's not the pirates.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
Good god. #1 The banks and investment firms that didn't get involved in the mortgage backed securities nonsense are doing JUST FINE. And it appears that the real problem is the phony money that is being made in the markets. If the U.S. had the same strong manufacturing base that we once had, we would not be nearly as affected as we have been. All of our manufacturing is sent overseas and now our value is is based on how much money we move around. And when the markets crash, the value of our money crashes right along with it. So then what do we have to rebuild with? Not much. That's why we are seeing cars of all types being sold at 50% or more off MSRP today.
And here's the kicker -- we know what the causes are and have been. Nothing has been done to prevent it from happening again. They want to prop things back up and get back to partying like it was 1999.
A quick google search will land you at a link to http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_32/b4045001.htm That article, while talking about pets, states "Americans spend on the movies ($10.8 billion), playing video games ($11.6 billion), and listening to recorded music ($10.6 billion) combined"
So according to the RIAA and MPAA we spend 33 billion on movies, video games, and music combined but some how piracy is costing the American economy almost twice what it actually spent on that industry? I know they inflate numbers, but this is beyond hyperbole.
He's more right than he probably knows. Even the design and engineering seem to be on a rapid decline, leaving copyright law and patent portfolios the only remaining American stronghold. People don't seem to grasp that it isn't sustainable. When the only thing you're left with is lawyers, you have a very serious problem.
Why can't you believe that he "admitted" that it is in the economic interests of the United States to ensure that its copyright-based industries continue to develop? He is a Senator. His job is to identify and protect the interests of the citizens of the United States.
See here's where the problem lies.
Copyrights aren't owned by citizens with short lifespans anymore.
Do not kid yourself. They are not looking out for the citizens interests, they are looking out for the interests of "Corporate Amerika".
Corporations are not beholden to anyone other than the stock holders and even then they typically have no moral compass.
They lobby to protect their interests, legislate to preserve antiquated business models, and continue to try and apply physical property rights to digital information.
Information which can be perfectly duplicated with no detriment to the original source. Supply and Demand does not apply when supply is effectively infinite.
I try to put myself in the shoes of the "content owner", but really have a hard time of it. Throughout antiquity, musicians and artists have been paid either by private parties commissioning work, or through public performance. Its only been a fairly recent development (last 100-200 years) that artists could expect to produce for a period of time and then live off the royalties or have their music be a source of perpetual income. Frankly I think copyrights have gotten out of hand. The idea that someone owns a string of notes in perpetuity is absurd. Its like a patent on a business model.