Piracy implies the unlawful use of copyrighted material with the aim of selling it to the consumers at low prices in the grey market or for personal purposes. The ease of access to technology has made piracy more threatening to all involved parties. Video piracy damages the film companies and entire movie industry. In recent years, substantial funds have been spent to combat this issue but legislators and policymakers recognize that there is still a lot of work ahead. The government passes the laws in the interests of right-holders and blocks unreliable Internet resources. Nevertheless, nowadays, the spread of pirated copies remains the greatest problem facing the world cinema and music. Movie piracy is a negative phenomenon threatening and devaluating the movie industry, undermining the national and global economy, and posing a substantial risk to individuals who violate the law and can even face imprisonment, but at the same time positively affecting the increase of theater admissions and benefiting those who cannot afford to buy videos or do not want to go to the cinema.
Movie piracy is a negative activity as it threats and diminishes the importance and contribution of movie industry. The use or spread of pirated movies decrease the consumers’ demand for paid films, affecting the producers’, crew’s, actors’ and cinema revenues are hurt as well. Due to the low income and vague future, investors are reluctant to spend money on quality entertainment. As a consequence, film studios and companies see no prospects in producing good movies. A consumer who regularly buys and watches pirated movies on DVD is unlikely to buy a ticket to the cinema as most of them cannot afford it and besides, they see no sense in wasting time and money on waiting for the premiere if it can soon be downloaded for free. In this case, individuals do not lose their money, unlike the entire movie industry (Nwogugu 29). Many motion pictures brought to the market have been successful. However, the copy and early availability of films online significantly reduce their value. Independent filmmakers suffer from this issue most as they spend long years on raising money and producing the unique masterpieces of cinematography (Nwogugu 16). In addition to risky investment and reduction of revenue, the distribution of pirated movies undermines the smooth functioning of movie industry by putting thousands of employees out of work. Although in most cases individuals pirate for recreational purposes only, their actions significantly affect other parties involved in the movie creation.
Movie piracy deprives the national and global economy of considerable incomes. Nwogugu has estimated that “there 2.4 million Americans whose livelihoods are based on the entertainment industry nowadays.”(19) Consequently, it brings almost $80 billion to the U.S. economy annually. Due to online piracy, however, 750,000 Americans have lost their jobs. Despite this, most of the online users still do not consider illegal downloading a theft and a serious violation. In addition to the unlawful distribution, such famous key services as Epix, Crackle, Amazon, iTunes, and Netflix have made access more convenient and the losses caused by movie piracy continue to increase. According to Farrand, “pirate videos drain almost $250 million from the U.S. economy every year.”(114) The consumers do not recognize the fact that the use and distribution of illegal content substantially decrease the creators’ incomes, fail to support the copyright, and leave individuals unemployed. There is no doubt that pirated movies adversely affect all parties involved in the entertainment industry. Fishman believes that online piracy poses a great threat to the American economy, deprives middle-class workers of good jobs, as well as discourages innovative and creative entrepreneurs. The introduction of an adequate patent reform will help to resolve the issue of movie piracy and prevent economic failure (300).
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Movie piracy is poses a substantial risk to individuals who break the law. Due to the violation of rules, those accused of infringing them can be heavily fined or even face imprisonment. As piracy is a crime, the users who break the law, should repent and pay significant fees to compensate for the losses caused by their activity. DVD/CD, cable, and internet video piracy have widely spread in recent years. Despite the fact that national legislators have worked hard to prevent it, international efforts have also been crucial. According to Nwogugu (146), the main accomplishment was the development of stringent laws designed to punish individuals engaged in the distribution of pirated movies in developed and developing countries. Farrand also stresses that the majority of East-European and Asian officials do not pay significant attention to this issue due to facing other challenges, there are few convictions and fines are not so high to act as a deterrent (182). However, every country recognizes the fact that the unauthorized copying breaks the law. In the USA, the federal authorities impose significant criminal and civil penalties to those who distribute, reproduce, and transmit the unauthorized, copyrighted video or music recordings and other material. “A civil lawsuit may force a violator to pay fee equaling up to $250,000” (Fishman 311). Criminal charges also include the imprisonment in case of very serious violations.
Despite the aforementioned negative aspects, film piracy may have comparatively positive effects. The low-income population in the developing countries has a chance to enjoy the cinematography works which are economically unavailable for them. Whereas file sharing rarely ensures a quality material, the attraction to see the film in a perfect quality and on a broad screen helps to increase theater admissions by devoted movie enthusiasts regardless of ticket costs. The oral communication and recommendations influence one’s decision and, therefore, reflects the positive impact of piracy in this context. Besides, due to the limited time, individuals make an independent choice about the movie and pick the best film, individuals glean the information from people who have already watched them, especially those who have seen them legally. The comparison of atmosphere of the movie theater and home watching affect their decision making in favor of the former. Thus, if the experience of individuals from a home session is not positive, the pirated movies can significantly increase the sales of legitimate motion pictures nationwide and worldwide (Farrand 145).
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In conclusion, piracy has positive and negative effects on the entire film industry. Unresolved piracy issue may force the industry to establish monopolies for the entertainment business. Tracking of consumption, monitoring of content distribution, and consumers’ behavior may positively affect the professional activity of producers and filmmakers. The approach promoting the reliable security ensures the smooth distribution and monetization of content nationwide and worldwide. Only in this case, the piracy can be curbed. However, the reference to convenient and alternative options will ease access to the legal content, the high quality of which will always be a notable attractant to real devotees.
