NO
PIRATES ALLOWED
By
Christina Blakeborough
Have
you ever actually looked up “piracy” in the dictionary? The first definition
that comes up is, “the practice of attacking and robbing ships at sea.”
Obviously, this definition isn’t exactly what we think of as online piracy, but
the intentions are basically the same. The intention of piracy is to steal or
rob someone of his or her property.
“The
unauthorized use or reproduction of another’s work” is the definition we’re
looking for. It’s essentially stealing from another individual. Stealing is a
crime whether it’s money, jewelry, or an idea. If anyone wants to take that
risk then they should suffer the consequences, such as heavy fines and possible
jail time.
Unfortunately,
the people who pirate don’t think of it that way, and technological innovations
such as Napster and the iPod haven’t helped with the fight against piracy.
Whether we like it or not, with today’s technology piracy has become a
pandemic. Doctors, professors, lawyers, and young business owners share files
or own unauthorized material, but that doesn’t make it right.
Back
in 2009, the founders of The Pirate Bay were sentenced to a year in prison and
ordered to pay millions of dollars to major media companies. The Pirate Bay is
one of the most notorious file-sharing websites.
With
the founders of the Pirate Bay behind bars, industry leaders were hoping that
would send a clear message to the public that piracy is wrong and you will pay
the price. Now, three years after that “lesson learned”, the youth still
haven’t caught on to the message, not even when Napster was shut down in 2001,
or when the Recording Industry Association of America started suing file
swappers, which eventually lead to a single mother being fined a whopping
$222,000.
If
the public is still thinking piracy is merely a law to be ignored or broken,
maybe this will change things: recently the Copyright Modernization Act was
introduced, and passed. What does this mean? Here’s an example; copying a movie
DVD for personal use would make Canadians liable for legal damages up to
$5,000. It seems much cheaper just to buy the DVD in a store for $20. This
newly passed law is part of a “clampdown” to prevent piracy from DVDs,
videogames, and e-books. It’ll now be illegal to break digital locks on these
goods, which will ultimately prevent duplication.
Piracy
is taking an individual’s property without their consent. The problem is that
today, people want to have a product immediately without costing anything,
which has led to illegally downloaded music, movies, and other entertainment.
The bottom line is that piracy is illegal; there is nothing positive regarding
that crime.
WE
ARE ALL PIRATES
By
Victoria Fawkes
Music
piracy is like peeing in the shower: almost everyone does it, yet it is
condemned in society. Although online piracy is not completely outlawed in
Canada, its legality has always fallen in the grey area of the law. In Canada,
although the personal download of music and other online goods is not illegal,
the act of manufacturing and profiting off of downloaded music is. If you’re
ever caught in the act of selling unauthorized online goods, you better believe
the penalty will be harsh.
Recently,
SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act) were proposed but
eventually shelved in the United States. SOPA and PIPA were controversial acts
regarding copyright infringement over illegal downloads in the US. The American
music industry, cable and satellite providers, and online publishing companies
heavily supported the acts, which aimed to curb the rampant counterfeiting and
copyright infringement by introducing harsher punishments for offenders. They
argued that piracy was stealing and should be treated as such.
Those
who were opposed to the act were human rights organizations, online service
providers, and non-profit organizations, who argue that music is an important
part of our culture that should be enjoyed by all, not just those who can
afford it. In fact, with the US just recovering from the harsh economic times it
has experienced over the past half-decade, music is more important than ever -
a welcome distraction from the maxed-out credit cards and used-up cheque-books
many Americans possess.
Bill
C-11, Canada’s version of SOPA, may change things for Canadian media pirates.
Bill C-11 will be proposed to the House of Commons in the near future, and
would prevent Canadians from downloading and pirating music, movies, and other
forms of online media. If Bill C-11 was passed, even YouTube would be
off-limits to Canadians, a prospect that had many Canadians outraged by the
very thought of it.
First
off, information (movies, music, anything really) simply cannot be owned by a
person. In the past, Donald Trump has tried to copyright the phrase “You’re
Fired!” and Gene Simmons has tried to copyright the term “O.J.”. Both were
criticized for their attempts to monopolize parts of the English language,
something no one has the right to do. Online piracy is just the same.
Information is information; it’s part of our culture; and it’s everyone’s, no
matter how you try and spin it.
Secondly,
it has been said that Internet piracy hurts artists. This may be true, but it
may be untrue; the only thing that’s for sure is that it’s completely unproven,
and therefore an unfair claim to make. While free online media may take some
money out of the pockets of artists, producers, or anyone else trying to line
their pockets with the funds of music-lovers, it may add to it. Think of all
the music that people are exposed to when they get it for free; things they
never would have known about before. In turn, they may spend more time and
money on these newly discovered artists, purchasing concert tickets,
merchandise, and other things that will go towards the music industry.
Though
the recent actions of oppressive forces have tried to tell us that music
downloading is an offence and must carry a serious punishment, Canadians must
remember that they have the right to cultural exposure, no matter what the fat
cats of the entertainment world have to say. And while it seems like every time
we turn around there is another rule that may threaten the way we experience
media, it’s important to remember that our anthem claims we are, in fact, the
true north, strong and free.
//Christina Blakeborough and Victoria Fawkes, writers
//Graphics by Faye Alexander
//Graphics by Faye Alexander
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