Alternative to SOPA - Make Piracy your Friend

[Alex Gakuru]

Marc,

You might like Tanja Aitamurto's article 'My Dad, SOPA and Me'
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tanja-aitamurto/my-dad-sopa-and-me_b_1286112.html(
see also 'Piracy is part of the digital ecosystem'
http://www.mondaynote.com/2012/01/22/piracy-is-part-of-the-digital-ecosystem/)

regards,

Alex

On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 5:25 PM, Marc Perkel <marc at churchofreality.org>wrote:

> THE IDEA
> ========
>
> OK - here's an idea for a solution to the piracy problem that is a win/win
> solution. This eliminates the need for SOPA. It is an outside the box
> solution so think deeply. The idea is:
>
> Don't try to stop piracy. Make piracy your friend!
>
> What we not call piracy - people copying movies and songs over the
> internet - can be look at as a free advertising and distribution system.
> Allow files to be uploaded - downloaded - copied - and distributed. The
> more the better.
>
> All files will carry ID tags and public keys etc that identify the
> copyright owner, rights information, how and where to buy the product, web
> site of copyright holder and/or artist.
>
> Media players will recognize these ID tags and be able to allow user to
> immediately purchase anything with a single click that is tied in through
> paypal or google wallet or itunes and apps store or any number of
> micropayment system.
>
> Those who provide music players would have an incentive in getting a small
> piece of the transaction giving them an incentive to install that
> capability.
>
> The idea is that this is a new paradigm. Piracy becomes free distribution
> and advertizing. Kids download - they like it - they pass it on - they blog
> about it - and because it is both cheap and easy - they buy it. At least
> enough of them buy it that the RIAA makes a bigger profit than they are now.
>
> The model assumes that higher volume at lower costs is more profitable. 1
> movie at $10 is the same as 10 movies at $1. The RIAA and MPA also
> eliminate their advertizing and distribution costs. No CDs on plastic being
> shipped. All money is pure profit.
>
> The paradigm shift is - yes - there will be piracy. There will be a LOT of
> people who don't pay. There will be more who don't pay than those who do
> pay. but that's OK because the real test is if the amount of profit in the
> new system is greater than that of the current system. I say it will be.
> And I have evidence to support that.
>
> Even those who don't pay benefit the copyright holders. They download it
> and play it for free. They like it and pass it on to 10 friends and 2
> friends pay. Thus the one who didn't pay resulted in 2 sales. The person
> who didn't pay likes the music and uploads it to a popular blog and
> thousands download it resulting in hundreds of sales and even greater
> distribution.
>
> In this model all the copyright holders need to do is put it out there and
> spend the money that is automatically deposited in their bank account by
> the system.
>
> WILL IT WORK?
> =============
>
> I came up with this idea back in 2002 and presented it to EFF who was
> disinterested in solutions at the time. Since then a number of things have
> happened in the world where this model is already working. Several major
> players are already doing similar things and it works. This is a PDF I had
> made to explain it:
>
> http://www.perkel.com/piracy.**pdf <http://www.perkel.com/piracy.pdf>
>
> We are all familiar with Apple iTunes and the 99 cent songs. Google is now
> selling media through its app store. Amazon is doing it. Then there are the
> unlimited subscription models where you pay $8/month for all you can eat.
> Netflix/Pandora radio, etc. There are advertizing supported models like
> broadcast radio and TV. No one wants to throw me in jail for watching
> "Desperate Housewives" on my TV without paying.
>
> But - you ask - why would people pay if they don't have to?
>
> PIracy would still be illegal. But like possession of small amounts of
> marijuana in California it would be at best an infraction. You don't have
> to pay, but you are expected to. Much like leaving a tip at a restaurant in
> America. You don't have to tip, but people do it anyway. AND - this is
> important - the media players make it both cheap and easy to pay. It's one
> dollar and one click. It can even be less than a dollar. When I divide how
> many shows I watch on Netflix in a month into $8 it come to like 25 cents a
> movie.
>
> And .... this is also important - the music industry is your friend - not
> your enemy. The business model where the recording industry sues the
> customers for uploading a baby video with music to YouTube - how does that
> make sense. That's not marketing - that terrorism.
>
> Example:
>
> Proposed law fir singing a Michael Jackson and uploading it to YouTube - 5
> years in prison.
> Killing Michael Jackson (manslaughter) - 4 years in prison
>
> MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
> =======================
>
> In the 1990s I owned a small software company. Had 3-5 employees and sold
> about $2 million in network control programs to companies like PG&E, Wells
> Fargo Bank, Chase Bank. I had online trial downloads and I exhibited at
> trade shows.
>
> It quickly became apparent that there ware people pirating my software. I
> tried to fight it at first but I soon realized that 2/3 of my business was
> coming from piracy. People were copying my programs and passing them around
> and they were ending up in major companies who were sending my large
> orders. And in my case these were not inexpensive programs. So as wierd as
> it seemed at the time - this was working. Piracy was my friend.
>
> CONCLUSION
> ============
>
> When you have a system that isn't working it's time to rethink everything
> and come up with a completely new paradigm. One thing that everyone agrees
> on is that what we have not doesn't work. Everyone is unhappy.
>
> The new paradigm suggested here is now proven to work. Netflix, Apple
> iTunes, Google, Amazon, Pandora, all working. Making money - happy
> customers. If you changed the distribution to include piracy - it would
> even work better.
>
> For example - now you have to download iTunes songs through iTunes and
> you're limited to that source and what they sell. But suppose you download
> a song from a web site that was just recorded yesterday? You play it on
> your iTunes player, you like it, and you can immediately purchase it
> through iTunes because the artist has embedded information into the song
> file to do that. Apple not gets a new sale and $$$ without even having to
> do anything. And the new purchase is automatically added to Apples
> inventory and is now searchable. The possibilities of ways to market media
> are endless once you get rid of the idea that a lot of people are going to
> not pay.
>
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