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UK 'Three Strikes' to Arrive in 2014
$31 Fee for the Accused to Defend Themselves
Just like a new six strikes plan set to go into effect here in the States later this year, the UK is still working on their own three strikes effort. According to a new draft proposal by UK regulator Ofcom (required by the Digital Economy Act), UK ISPs will need to start sending warning letters to broadband subscribers starting by early 2014. Users will have to be informed by the ISP that they're being watched, while providing suggestions for legitimate content. Should a user get three warnings within a year, the entertainment industry would then be able to proceed with obtaining the user's private information for possible legal action. As with the U.S. version the accused can defend themselves -- for a fee -- in this case £20 ($31).
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Suntop
Wolfrider Elf
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1 recommendation

Suntop

Premium Member

Firsties!!

No matter what these clueless fools will never learn that piracy will never stop. Until they find a way to make it where this is not WORTH happening (lowering the cost of media etc) then this will remain. Do you think "pirates" care if they break the law?

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Firsties!!

said by Suntop:

No matter what these clueless fools will never learn that piracy will never stop. Until they find a way to make it where this is not WORTH happening (lowering the cost of media etc) then this will remain. Do you think "pirates" care if they break the law?

Lowering the price to what? There are already many low price options out there for both music and movies. The only price point many pirates are willing to accept is zero. So, lowering price is not an option to control piracy. The solution is to heavily punish pirates.

Alex J
@jillyred.net

Alex J

Anon

Re: Firsties!!

There are already many low price options out there for both music and movies.

Debatable. Especially when we talk quality, DRM-limited options.

The only price point many pirates are willing to accept is zero.

That's completely fabricated nonsense.

The solution is to heavily punish pirates.

That's been working really well now for a decade, huh?

You need a new schtick.

Suntop
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Suntop to FFH5

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to FFH5
On physical media. Like CDs for music. DVDs and BLU-RAYS can drop down 25-40% and this will still give MPAA the profits they want.... If you get rid of the incentive to pirate then it will go away. Some of the "pirates" are honest working people who just cannot afford it. Say it is $15.99 to get a blu-ray as opposed to $29.99 that the average price point is, then it would get rid of the honest bunch and if piracy drops by 50% it would make it less of a reason to do this. IMO

They may, Mega Upload.... the "FBI" has names... They do not seem to understand do not go after the small ones. Go after the profit seekers (like MU) and the pirates that "sell" the bootlegs. If the pirates see "oh I will go to prison for a long time for selling a bootleg" may also lessen such incentive to pirate to begin with.

Gbcue
Premium Member
join:2001-09-30
Santa Rosa, CA

Gbcue

Premium Member

Re: Firsties!!

Now that I've got a Blu-Ray player, I've actually started buying physical movies/media, only on sale. I can't justify spending $30+ for a single movie when I can just DL/stream an HD copy, but will gladly spend $10-$15.

verizonlteda
@myvzw.com

verizonlteda to Suntop

Anon

to Suntop
Cause you can't afford it you steal it lol ? good one.

Spike5
Premium Member
join:2008-05-16
Toronto, ON

2 edits

Spike5

Premium Member

Re: Firsties!!

said by verizonlteda :

Cause you can't afford it you steal it lol ? good one.

This, is the primary reason that drives people to infringement. Also, infringement is not theft. The original owner still has his copy of the movie.
Movies are also loaded with DRM and the quality sucks compared to blu-ray so nobody in their right mind wants to buy that crap as digital downloads.

Ironically the only GOOD digital downloads are 15GB+ Blu-Ray rips. The movie industry offers no legal online alternative to these.... if they did you couldn't play them just about anywhere since they will be DRM'd to hell, where you can with unrestricted Matroska files... (I'm being friendly by ignoring the obvious fact that these files contain JUST the movie, not the unskippable warnings and trailer garbage that comes with Blu-Ray disks)

Also, most people only watch movies once, hard to justify $30+ on a plastic disk for a one-time thrill.

Blu-ray's have DRM too, but plenty of programs guarantee they will still be usable for a long time to come.
jvanbrecht
join:2007-01-08
Bowie, MD

jvanbrecht to FFH5

Member

to FFH5
Maybe if they actually made a product worth spending money on, then there would be less piracy. Sure I like to watch movies, and I will admit, I like bad movies from a pure entertainment aspect, but I certainly will not pay for it outside of going to the theater (I like the theater experience.. it is one of my guilty pleasures)

Provide value in the cost of a product, and people will pay for it, provide crap, and people will steal it.

NormanS
I gave her time to steal my mind away
MVM
join:2001-02-14
San Jose, CA
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NormanS

MVM

Re: Firsties!!

said by jvanbrecht:

Maybe if they actually made a product worth spending money on, then there would be less piracy.

Seriously; if it isn't worth buying, it isn't worth watching.

Spike5
Premium Member
join:2008-05-16
Toronto, ON

1 edit

1 recommendation

Spike5 to FFH5

Premium Member

to FFH5
said by FFH5:

said by Suntop:

No matter what these clueless fools will never learn that piracy will never stop. Until they find a way to make it where this is not WORTH happening (lowering the cost of media etc) then this will remain. Do you think "pirates" care if they break the law?

Lowering the price to what? There are already many low price options out there for both music and movies. The only price point many pirates are willing to accept is zero. So, lowering price is not an option to control piracy. The solution is to heavily punish pirates.

I'm classed as what the industry calls a "thief" and "criminal", yet I must had spent a good $2000+ on Vinyl so far this year.

Not everyone wants things for free... so GTFO.

EDIT: To me, Vinyl is tangible and has "value" for the money, digital files do not. I see files for what they are, just a bunch of bits on a hard drive that costs basically pennies to distribute, yet the price doesn't reflect such.

Pirate515
Premium Member
join:2001-01-22
Brooklyn, NY

Pirate515

Premium Member

Re: Firsties!!

said by Spike5:

EDIT: To me, Vinyl is tangible and has "value" for the money, digital files do not. I see files for what they are, just a bunch of bits on a hard drive that costs basically pennies to distribute, yet the price doesn't reflect such.

Maybe it's just me, but this day and age I equate DRM-free digital files to physical media in terms of tangibility. IMO, if you backup regularly, digital files are just as "tangible" as vinyls, cassettes or CD's.

Note that I said "DRM-free" above. If I am going to be restricted in what I can do with it, it has no value to me.

I do agree on pricing of digital downloads. The distribution cost of them is a tiny fraction of that of physical media, yet prices are not that much lower; in some cases they are actually the same or higher.

Spike5
Premium Member
join:2008-05-16
Toronto, ON

Spike5

Premium Member

Re: Firsties!!

said by Pirate515:

said by Spike5:

EDIT: To me, Vinyl is tangible and has "value" for the money, digital files do not. I see files for what they are, just a bunch of bits on a hard drive that costs basically pennies to distribute, yet the price doesn't reflect such.

Maybe it's just me, but this day and age I equate DRM-free digital files to physical media in terms of tangibility. IMO, if you backup regularly, digital files are just as "tangible" as vinyls, cassettes or CD's.

Note that I said "DRM-free" above. If I am going to be restricted in what I can do with it, it has no value to me.

I do agree on pricing of digital downloads. The distribution cost of them is a tiny fraction of that of physical media, yet prices are not that much lower; in some cases they are actually the same or higher.

If they offered FLAC or Apple lossless for everything as an option, I wouldn't mind buying digital music. Paying high amounts for lossy files turns me off it entirely.
Kearnstd
Space Elf
Premium Member
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ

Kearnstd to FFH5

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to FFH5
said by FFH5:

Lowering the price to what? There are already many low price options out there for both music and movies. The only price point many pirates are willing to accept is zero. So, lowering price is not an option to control piracy. The solution is to heavily punish pirates.

because heavy punishment works so well. going after people for millions for a collection of product not even worth $100. the current punishments will never be paid. odds are those sued just declare bankruptcy and make it go away causing the MAFIAA to get nothing.

Mashiki
Balking The Enemy's Plans
join:2002-02-04
Woodstock, ON

Mashiki to FFH5

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to FFH5
said by FFH5:

Lowering the price to what? There are already many low price options out there for both music and movies. The only price point many pirates are willing to accept is zero. So, lowering price is not an option to control piracy. The solution is to heavily punish pirates.

Yeah that's not true. I'm not paying the same price for a digital copy for a book that I already physically own, or that I own multiple copies of for instance. Even when the digital copy is more for instance.

Let's take a look at a series I've been working through Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan.
Eye of the World - List: $4.99-6.99 trade paperback(depending on the age of the book - since I own 3 copies of various reprints, though store prices reflect this)
Digital:
Kobo: $7.99
Google Play: $9.99
Kindle: $9.17
Apple: $6.99-9.99(location)

The same applies for movies, and music.

abcd924
@comcast.net

abcd924

Anon

$31 Fee

This is another way to increase revenue. As a result, more money to CEO and exec pockets

SimbaSeven
I Void Warranties
join:2003-03-24
Billings, MT

SimbaSeven

Member

The accused can defend themselves for £20 ($31)

So.. You're guilty until you can fork over £20 ($31)?

Sounds like a huge load of bullsh*t, which is typical of the movie and recording industry. They need to squeeze every last drop they can to please their (overpaid) execs

PapaMidnight
join:2009-01-13
Baltimore, MD

PapaMidnight

Member

Re: The accused can defend themselves for £20 ($31)

I am inclined to agree. To defend myself from a bogus claim, I would have to pay up first? What a load...

JohnDoe
@verizon.net

JohnDoe

Anon

Piracy

Can some please explain, why ISP are responsible Copyrighted material? ISP responsibility are to give customer access/reliable internet service. If your product is copyright-en, then that means that you are responsible for make sure it's not able to be copied over the internet, not ISP! if they think the only way to secure it is over the internet, then why not make their own internet service. I predict they will have no customers. lol! if i was a ISP, i would tell them to "f off or i will sue you for harassment!"

buzz_4_20
join:2003-09-20
Dover, NH

buzz_4_20

Member

Re: Piracy

It's the ISPs fault...
Also
Guns Kill People
The spoon made me fat

ohreally
@virginmedia.com

ohreally

Anon

I'm British, and...

I don't think it's ever going to happen. I'm fairly sure there was a previous "deadline", I think it was for Ofcom (the closest equivalent to the FCC) to draw up some rules and regulations for sending letters out. The whole thing stalled.

A common tactic in British government is just to keep delaying that which won't happen, rather than killing it. In a few months, maybe a year, or even closer to 2014, the deadline will be pushed forward again, and again, and again...

Another thing they do is to announce things like these to make the relevant groups happy. So the few copyright holders who agree with this wretched law will be happy because progress "appears" to be happening, and we're somewhat placated because it's not happening yet.

newview
Ex .. Ex .. Exactly
Premium Member
join:2001-10-01
Parsonsburg, MD

newview

Premium Member

I can understand

Nowadays, when the first twenty minutes of a DVD is taken up by inane advertising and previews (which often cannot be skipped), I can certainly understand why piracy is rampant.

I do not pirate, but the very first thing I do when I purchase a new DVD is to burn a copy, eliminating EVERYTHING but the movie so I do not have to watch all the CRAP that is being forced down my throat.