Pirates - digital theft in the film industry

The Players - the faces behind digital theft

While organised crime largely controls hard copy piracy, the general public downloads soft copy illegal content. A different approach will be needed to combat the newer threat of digital theft.

One of the biggest challenges is the†question of who is doing the piracy. With†hard copy piracy, tough action is appropriate†as it involves organised crime. Those†downloading films off the internet, if the†music industry is anything to go by, are the†general public. "With digital theft, you are†dealing with people who are likely to be†your customers, and could well be your†family and friends," says Mark Endemano.

A recent survey by MP3.com (owned by†Vivendi Universal) revealed that there are†nearly as many over 45s downloading illegal†music as under 18s. The film industry can†expect a similarly diverse group to be†participating in downloading films illegally.

This, then, is a very different threat that is†more about winning hearts and minds than†suing the pants off everyone. Downloading†pirated content is clearly seen as more†acceptable than buying dodgy videos at car†boot sales. The question is why?

She's Gotta Have It - Why is digital theft seen as 'a lesser evil'?

An alarming rise in†digital theft of recorded†music has been†accompanied by a sharp†drop in online (legal)†sales of music. People†don't seem to view†digital theft as wrong.

Recent evidence demonstrates a clear†correlation between an alarming decrease in†legitimate music online sales with an†increase in peer-to-peer file-sharing. In other†words, why pay if you can still get it for†free? In the graph 'Legal online music sales†vs illegal file-sharing', the green line charts†the decline of online music sales, while the†yellow line illustrates the rising number of†people using file-sharing applications, i.e.†peer-to-peer technology. This is a trend that†doesn't bode well for the film industry.

So why do some people seem to draw the†line at purchasing knock-off DVDs or videos,†but feel digital theft is OK?

Theories abound. "99.9% of digital thieves†are good law-abiding citizens. They just†don't believe that what they are doing is†wrong - and certainly wouldn't call it theft,"†says Mark Endemano. "Attitudes among the†older age groups seem to be that if it is so†easy and everybody is doing it, it can't be†illegal."†Another contributor is the nature of the†internet. Since the advent of the internet,†people expected online content to be†available...