The Motion Picture Association of America has been working hard since 2007 to bring movie piracy to a halt. Wednesday, the MPAA filed suits against three more allegedly illicit movie web sites. This brings their total number of lawsuits to 13; though somewhat of a piecemeal approach, they have been successful in combating underground trade and winning by settlement or default judgment. Even though they have been successful, illegal downloading is even more prevalent than before.

There are other ways of getting a movie, people. Here’s a few:

• Hulu.com – One of the best services to watch movies and television right on your computer. It’s legal, and it’s free. You can subscribe to shows and get email alerts when a new episode is posted.
• Fancast.com – Their byline – “Watch full TV shows and Movies FREE online!” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
• Joost.com – Wow, another FREE AND LEGAL place to watch movies and TV shows. This has a social feel to it, where you can get recommendations from others on what to watch.
• Major TV Network sites – NBC, ABC, CBS, USA, FOX… you get the idea. They have their exclusive shows you can watch right online just like the other websites.

Let me make one thing very clear – movie piracy is a CRIME, and it is punishable by law.

On Monday, President Bush signed legislation creating a new cabinet position, the Copyright Czar. This office will be charged to create, implement and enforce plans to combat piracy and reports directly to the president. In addition, the MPAA is already lobbying President-Elect Obama to embrace Internet filtering that will automatically detect and remove copyright infringing content. Internet filtering is being embraced worldwide and it will not be long before these filters are in place throughout the Internet. What does this mean? A much higher chance of getting caught red-handed. Not fair, you say? A copyright infringement lawsuit is no walk in the park – more like your worst nightmare. Because of current US laws protecting copyright owners, you could face incarceration and hefty fines if found guilty.

What about fair use? Well, this is the criteria for “fair use” – you determine how you are using the works of others:

• Is the new use of a commercial nature?
• Did the new work harm the market of the original work?
• Is the new work a parody?
• How much content of the original was used?

Basically, if you are uploading a copy of a movie or other copyrighted work to the Internet as a torrent or onto a P2P or file-sharing network, you are infringing on copyrighted content. Piracy is a big reason that legitimate consumers pay higher prices for the same product. Do you still think that is fair?

What are your thoughts about fair use of copyrighted content? If you are copying movies, why?

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Well over a dozen people tuned into NBC’s Sunday night prime time lineup, shattering the network’s previous record of 10. Since the advent of the Internets, fewer intelligent beings have found themselves interested in what Hollywood has to offer.

Yesterday evening, one billion users logged into YouTube.com to upload videos of themselves doing stupid things. This morning, the networks responded in kind – issuing lawsuits against YouTube and every one of its users, claiming they (the television networks) “own the rights to insipid entertainment.” YouTube was again forced to update its Terms & Conditions to the following:

“…by submitting the User Submissions to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, uninspired, completely boring, waste of time, I want my five minutes back, who is this dipshit and why do I care, another pointless singalong, a trailer I already saw elsewhere, lame-ass halfwits who just purchased a Webcam, can I punch the ninja yet… oops, where were we? Oh yes: to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the User Submissions in connection with the YouTube Website and YouTube’s (and its successor’s) business… in any media formats and through any media channels.”

Next week, YouTube is switching to the “I’m not dead yet” RealVideo format to settle the score with another copyright lawsuit holder, Robert Turd – since beating him senseless was out of the question.

Source: YouTube
Domain: AllYourTube.com
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