Why PROTECT IP Will Fail: Cultural Acceptance, Not Fear Of Punishment, Makes People Abide By Laws
from the you're-doing-it-wrong dept
Lawyer Ron Coleman has a post about the PROTECT IP Act, called “We’re all infringers now,” that’s worth reading. While it covers similar ground to what we’ve said before, there’s one line in there, towards the end, that is absolutely worth highlighting and repeating:
This new proposed law is a terrible way to try to solve [infringement]. Its passage would only drive the culture further yet from any respect for the rule of law as it applies to intellectual property. But if Big IP hasn?t figured out yet that it is cultural acceptance of legal norms, not fear of punishment, that makes a free society a law-abiding one — if Big IP doesn?t understand what the de facto attitude of consumers regarding copyright has already become, and where it is already going — then heck, maybe at this point the law professors and the rest of us should just let Congress already go ahead and give them enough rope.
This is the key point that many of us have been trying to drive home for years. It’s the same key point that the SSRC report made in pointing out that “enforcement” and “education” are simply not strategies that work. And that wasn’t based on theory. It was based on years and years of detailed research. And yet, to the industry and to the government there seems to be only one single tool in the box for dealing with the challenges of infringement: to scare people. But that only works if people are stupid. And we now have plenty of experience in recognizing that people don’t culturally accept the claims of the industry on this issue, and no amount of threats and punishment are likely to change that.
Filed Under: cultural acceptance, laws, protect ip, punishment
Comments on “Why PROTECT IP Will Fail: Cultural Acceptance, Not Fear Of Punishment, Makes People Abide By Laws”
One word: Prohibition
It’s worked so well for the “war on drugs”. Drug use has pretty much disappeared thanks to three strikes, long prison sentences and heavy fines.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
But that seems to be the one the MAFIAA and most book publishers seem to subscribe to.
Turn internet providers into their “copyright gestapo,” use Homeland Security as armed muscle, and *of course* the people whose eyeballs they’re stomping on will come flocking to them, waving money.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Only because the MAFIAA removed all other choices from the table.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Oh, they’ll be waving something alright… but it won’t be money. More like torches, pitch-forks, AK-47s.
Freedom
it is cultural acceptance of legal norms, not fear of punishment, that makes a free society a law-abiding one
Notice that he said “a free society”. That’s why they’re working to take freedoms away. Then strong-arming, fear and force are much more effective.
The RIAA and MPAA are two of the biggest threats to American freedom today.
Cultural Acceptance is right.
It will be a carbon copy of the War On Drugs.
Unreasonable harsh punishments, Institutional deafness to what “The people” think, etc…
2.7 Trillion in profits from the drug war, for the private prison industry, civil forfetures, …
The new War On Piracy promisses smiliar profits for many more.
Time for me to see how I can make my money in all this…
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
You know, until I got to the end of the sentence…
No, nothing, nevermind..
This is one of those situations where the copyright maximalist’s position will change based on what they’re trying to argue for.
One day they’ll say, “everyone is infringing our copyrights; we need stronger laws and enforcement!”
But if everyone is infringing, then it’s obviously socially acceptable and since the government is supposed to represent the will of the people, it should be the government’s responsibility to legalize what is already accepted.
In response to such an argument, the copyright maximalist will argue that “it’s just a few bad apples,” or something like that. But if it’s only a few people, why are we wasting time and money and punishing the rest of the people with harsher, more restrictive laws because of a few people?
Non-commercial copyright infringement is not only the norm for a lot of people, it’s technically unavoidable according to the way the copyright maximalists depict it (which is more severe than the law actually states). They’ve said on various occasions that personal copies and back-ups are illegal (because they argue that since they say it isn’t allowed, it is unauthorized and thus illegal, even if that’s not how the law works). But more so, lots of artists leak or distribute their material unofficially even though official permission is not given, so even this leads to what the copyright maximalist considers infringement.
It just makes sense to decriminalize it, like marijuana. Not because its good or bad, but because it does more harm to society to waste money and effort trying to fight reality.
If everyone in the state department is a communist, is it really that bad that we have communists in the state department?
Obvious things are.. not that obvious.
O rly? It’s obvious to any sane and intelligent man/woman. Sanity and intelligence seem to be in some sort of heavy shortage in politics and industry in general.
Some things don’t even need a law to govern them. Would you srsly kill some1 if it wasn’t a crime today? I wouldn’t. Laws are only useful when the majority of the ppl agree with them.
Obvious things are.. not that obvious.
O rly? It’s obvious to any sane and intelligent man/woman. Sanity and intelligence seem to be in some sort of heavy shortage in politics and industry in general.
Some things don’t even need a law to govern them. Would you srsly kill some1 if it wasn’t a crime today? I wouldn’t. Laws are only useful when the majority of the ppl agree with them.
The artical is perfectly correct if people reject a law it becomes unenforcable. Governments should realise that they cant stop piracy this way. The Mafsaas should realise that the only way forward is to embrace it and change business modles.
Have you checked out the website they launched with the announce of the new five strikes plan? Checkout the “facts” it’s unbelievable
It’s the same key point that the SSRC report made in pointing out that “enforcement” and “education” are simply not strategies that work.
I don’t now about that. Consider anti-littering campaign (please, please don’t be a litterbug), Smokey The Bear (only you can prevent forest fires) Anti-drunk driving campaigns, anti-smoking campaigns, seat belt campaigns, etc. I didn’t bother reading the SSRC report but am aware that the above campaigns combined education and enforcement and achieved something of a desired effect. Piracy may be a tougher nut due to it involving financial gain for the people involved but I don’t agree that it’s futile.
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URL please
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link please
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Yeah, I was thinking about the penis waving as well. I want to know where I can line up to wave mine at the record and movie execs.
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Enforcement and Education worked in those cases because there was a moral backing to it. You are causing unnecessary harm to people, the environment, etc.
Piracy doesn’t hurt any entity that people really cares about. How is content creation going to stop when people want it? Are content creators suddenly going to… stop creating? Are they really not going to throw their hands up in the air and go “Welp… I can’t write software or music anymore because all digitally recorded content created by me is freely distributed everywhere. Might as well become a plumber!”
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See and that’s where it doesn’t make sense when you compare it to those other things:
Litter prevention – benefits the public
Preventing forest fires – benefits the public/safety education
Anti-drunk driving campaigns – benefits the public/health education
Anti-smoking campaigns – health education
Sealt Belt campaigns – safety education
where as:
Anti-piracy “education” – aims to benefit a business model
It doesn’t belong in the same category as the other campaigns you mentioned. That’s why it doesn’t work. Everyone sees through its “educational” guise for what it really is.
Trolling Association of America
Just you wait, the Wild West phase of the internet is coming to an end. And you freeloaders are not going to like the changes, because you’ll have nowhere to hide your illegal activities.
I tried to combine tired rhetoric with a complete failure to address the article; hope I did it right.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Anything that comes out MAFIAA I have for years never purchased new.I just wait a bit and buy it used and physical adding onto my library of books,films,and music.
As far as digital drm files go you will never find opne on my drives.i will never ever buy anything that i do not own and is physical.
if all physical products go away before i die (i am 55) then i will download anything i want to.
FUCK OFF MAFIAA !!!!
you needed money so go and sue another grandma
Gov't regards "laws" as specifically TO make people into criminals!
You can’t rule free people. So every gov’t keeps increasing the number of laws until IS a criminal, then the population is controlled.
So this lawyer has a totally wrong premise about gov’t and CAN’T understand the purpose of these new statutes.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Yeah, I was thinking about the penis waving as well. I want to know where I can line up to wave mine at the record and movie execs.
i do a fair amount of waving here: http://thepiratebay.org
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Yeah, I was thinking about the penis waving as well. I want to know where I can line up to wave mine at the record and movie execs.
That would be funny. A couple of thousand people on a hill like the scene from Braveheart.
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It doesn’t belong in the same category as the other campaigns you mentioned. That’s why it doesn’t work. Everyone sees through its “educational” guise for what it really is.
That’s why they try to link it to other things, like terrorism and child pornography. And law enforcement goes right along with it because it gets them more money too.
Trolling Association of America
not a bad start, now respond to this by calling me stupid and than attacking some regular poster at random. Then restate your disconnected opinion and challenge someone to disprove it.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
“Yeah, I was thinking about the penis waving as well. I want to know where I can line up to wave mine at the record and movie execs.”
MPAA
1600 Eye St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20006
Beware the DC laws against insufficient exposure.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
I don’t purchase movies anymore, either, whether as VOD or DVDs [cough]Netflix DVD[/cough].
I am all “ebook all the time.” However, since the publishers went to war with Amazon and burned Fictionwise almost to the ground, I’m buying a LOT fewer eBooks, with Baen being my sole remaining “buy ’em by the bunch” resource.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Hmmm, whipping mine out there would get me arrested but,
I’m thinking of a swimming noodle and some kind of photo-realistic sleeve that covers it so…well I think you get it.
Gov't regards "laws" as specifically TO make people into criminals!
They’ve already succeeded. It’s been pointed out that in the modern era, you can’t go through a typical day’s activities without committing several felonies. If “they” want to come after you, they just pick one from Column A or one from Column B and voila!
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
If it were a group thing, couldnt it be considered free speech?
think of it 1000 people outside the headquaters of the MPAA simultanioulsy pulling their pants down and waving their private parts at the MPAA. Saying
“We wave our private parts at you, you silly english Kniggits”
and let monty python sue us all.
Gov't regards "laws" as specifically TO make people into criminals!
This is the most lucid thought I’ve ever seen you post. I concur. 😉
Trolling Association of America
You forgot a “the party is over” comment, but otherwise were spot on.
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Don’t forget all the congress people going into treatment rather than jail when they get caught.
Making People Hate You Is A Lousy Business Model
Would that also be a copyright infringement? 🙂
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http://www.copyrightinformation.org/
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LoL
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http://www.copyrightinformation.org/facts
There are more “facts” in there OMG.
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Another fact they lost it:
Litigation against consumers cost the industry 20 billion dollars.
Comments from other places:
Quote:
Source:http://www.tomsguide.com/us/Comcast-Verizon-throttle-six-strikes-Obama,news-11799.html
Quote:
Source:http://www.betanews.com/article/Major-ISPs-strike-deal-with-music-movie-industry-over-copyright/1310063788
Quote:
Source:http://www.neowin.net/news/why-do-isps-now-support-six-strikes-plan
Apparently in every other forum out there people are united in one voice about this issue.
It is not welcome.
Obvious things are.. not that obvious.
most people wouldn’t in the normal course of events, but some would, and then some who wouldn’t otherwise would in revenge/retaliation/perfectly reasonable ‘prevent it from happening again’ logic…
which leads to people who had close ties to the origional murderer following the same logic… and few are rational enough to keep it to only the person responsible (which most people would Probably accept, if grudingly, if there was evidence. not all, but most) but usually go after a whole bunch of people they see as having some connection to it…
and you end up with feuds, which can rapidly escalate into wars …
so… basically, without an over all law on the subject, you’d end up with the same basic law coming into effect either officially or sort of just by general consensus anywhere you had a tightly bound group with decent leadership… and an utter mess everywhere else.
and then you’ve got the issue that corporations are STILL large entities with a lot of money. without legal constraints preventing it you’d quite rapidly end up with a lot of their hostile takeover type manoeuvres being a lot more… hostile.
bullets are faster after all. and who’s going to object to you dumpting waste in any meaningful way when you control your own armed forces and the surrounding area? maybe someone down stream could organise a large enough force and fight a War over it…
that said, any law that does not have general cultural acceptance is going to be ignored and thus completely pointless, it’s true. the problem is that that cultural acceptance, or it’s lack, Can be a fairly local phenomenon. ugh. my explaination’s getting tangled. hopefully someone better at explaining gets my point.
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You more or less had it until the last line. Along the same lines, you could just as well say that “if everyone in Congress is a corporate sellout, is it really that bad that we have corporate sellouts in the Congress?” Historically, you could just as well insert slavery, genocide, or any other deplorable act that was considered “commonly acceptable”.
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Piracy may be a tougher nut due to it involving financial gain for the people involved
Whose financial gain?
Trolling Association of America
Dang, I had a feeling I was forgetting something!
Trolling Association of America
OK, let’s see…
HothMonster, like that big white thing in Star Wars? As in a big lumbering stupid beast? Makes sense. You probably smell like it too. I’m sick and tired of you and Marcus Carab apologizing for thieves. The sheriff is coming to town, and you’ll have nowhere to run.
The party’s over.
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My capitalization is probably too good, but otherwise I think it’s coming along nicely! Did you like my mixed metaphor?
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Did you just compare copyright infringement to slavery and genocide?
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An Limewire caused 90 trillion in damages. RIAA said so.
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Your analogy doesn’t work. My analogy was that the scare tactic and catchwords that these people are using regarding copyright infringement is comparable to the scare tactics of McCarthy.
No one is scaremongering about Congressional corruption. We know that a lot of our elected officials are corrupt.
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WTF? I didn’t mention copyright, or make even the faintest reference to copyright, and yet you came to the conclusion I was making a statement about copyright?
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No, I clearly did not say anyone was “scaremongering about Congressional corruption”. If you perhaps tried to READ what I said, you would have noticed that I was merely pointing out that your LAST LINE, as written, was a horrible argument that doesn’t support anything.
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MrWilson argued that copyright infringement should be legalized because it’s so widely accepted. You pointed out that slavery and genocide have been widely accepted too. So if you weren’t talking about copyright, what were you talking about?