Paramount beginning to take action on piracy
By Sam Symons, 24 December 2009 - 09:28 157 comments
The 2009 release of the movie 'Star Trek' was very popular. It saw great reviews, success at the box office, though unfortunately, it also had the highest piracy rate of the entire year. Paramount are aware of this, and have since written to the FCC, asking them to take action.
According to the site Trek Movie, the movie managed to rack up a whopping 11 million illegal downloads, beating out the top pirated movie of 2008 (The Dark Knight) by 4 million. The company Paramount managed to hunt down over five million IP addresses of people who downloaded one of the pirated copies, and has written to the FCC with their thoughts about the whole ordeal. The letter, found in .PDF format here, states that, "Just five years ago, one had to be computer literate and exceedingly patient to pirate movies. Today, literally anyone with an internet connection can do it. Clunky websites are being replaced by legitimate looking and legitimate feeling pirate movie websites, a perception enhanced by the presence of premium advertisers and subscription fees processed by major financial institutions."
Paramount claims that pirating has gone from "geek to sleek," and even pinned some of the blame on popular legal sites such as Google, Bing, YouTube and Megaupload, as they provide access to pirated content in one way or another. They also believe that part of the problem is that nowadays, sites that provide pirated content are powered by the advertising of legal companies, through premium advertisement services such as that offered by Google.
The letter provides some very valid arguments regarding piracy, though whether or not people will really take notice is a different story altogether. The company is aiming to gain government support to aid the Hollywood studios stop such obscene levels of piracy, with the letter stating, "[We] must have the legal and regulatory flexibility to use technological tools in partnership with Internet service providers to stem the tide of online copyright theft." If you're curious about the other movies on the top 10 pirated list, we've shown them below.
1. Star Trek
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
3. RocknRolla
4. The Hangover
5. Twilight
6. District 9
7. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8. State of Play
9. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
10. Knowing
Comments (157)
Stalk3r - 24 December 2009 - 09:40
TorrentFreak should probably be credited for the top10 listing in this article.
Exosphere - 24 December 2009 - 10:03
Why?
br_ - 24 December 2009 - 13:35
http://torrentfreak.com/top-10-most-pirate...of-2009-091220/
Of course, Neowin doesn't really cite their sources, anyway.
excalpius - 24 December 2009 - 16:10
It's called File Sharing, NOT piracy, or bootlegging. No copies are being sold, no profits made, etc.
C_Guy - 24 December 2009 - 16:35
Let's get rid of the ignorance. Piracy is still stealing and it is still wrong whether or not money changes hands. Next time you watch a movie, read the FBI warning. It states this quite clearly.
detoxa - 24 December 2009 - 16:59
Why should i read some junk from the FBI? It may surprise you but American law is not global and it NEVER will be.
You was saying something about ignorance .....
TSO - 24 December 2009 - 17:02
You was saying something about ignorance .....
You mean America isn't the world? I bet quite a few people here would be surprised to hear that :P
Treemonkeys - 24 December 2009 - 17:21
"Piracy" is not theft, it is copying. Copying and stealing are completely different words with completely different meanings.
still1 - 24 December 2009 - 17:29
Yes, Piracy is not theft.
+dead.cell - 24 December 2009 - 18:57
You was saying something about ignorance .....
Oddly enough, I believe he's Canadian. :P
GP007 - 24 December 2009 - 20:28
You was saying something about ignorance .....
Well, just to give you a heads up, the FBI warrning talks about copyright laws which ARE GLOBAL.
So yeah, you are pretty ignorant.
Also to all the others who say "piracy is not stealing" Maybe you should read up on the word again?
piâ‹...raâ‹...cy  /ˈpaɪrÉ™si/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pahy-ruh-see]
–noun, plural -cies. 1. practice of a pirate; robbery or illegal violence at sea.
2. the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc.: The record industry is beset with piracy.
pi·ra·cy (pÄ«'rÉ™-sÄ“)
n. pl. pi·ra·cies
1.
a.Robbery committed at sea.
b.A similar act of robbery, as the hijacking of an airplane.
2.The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material: software piracy.
Now, in what part of the damn world do you all live in where robbory doesn't equal stealing? I really wonder.
Leo Natan - 25 December 2009 - 00:53
M_Lyons10 - 25 December 2009 - 05:50
Of course, Neowin doesn't really cite their sources, anyway.
Which they really should do. They do like to go back and point the finger at the source when the article is criticized...
M_Lyons10 - 25 December 2009 - 05:50
It IS piracy... LOL
+petrossa - 25 December 2009 - 18:49
According to dutch law (going to change but still) the downloading of copyrighted material for personal use is not illegal. That's why the dutch pay a surcharge on recording materials, such as dvd's.
Growled - 25 December 2009 - 20:17
Whatever you call it, it is wrong.
Ligan - 25 December 2009 - 21:08
This. You don't have to word it to know that it's wrong, it's a gut feeling. It's still stealing because you're still taking money out of a person's wallet, but you're doing it in a way that's indirect, and thus has little effect on the conscience on the wrongdoers.
Turion - 27 December 2009 - 07:00
Well, just to give you a heads up, the FBI warrning talks about copyright laws which ARE GLOBAL.
So yeah, you are pretty ignorant.
Also to all the others who say "piracy is not stealing" Maybe you should read up on the word again?
piâ‹...raâ‹...cy  /ˈpaɪrÉ™si/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [pahy-ruh-see]
–noun, plural -cies. 1. practice of a pirate; robbery or illegal violence at sea.
2. the unauthorized reproduction or use of a copyrighted book, recording, television program, patented invention, trademarked product, etc.: The record industry is beset with piracy.
pi·ra·cy (pÄ«'rÉ™-sÄ“)
n. pl. pi·ra·cies
1.
a.Robbery committed at sea.
b.A similar act of robbery, as the hijacking of an airplane.
2.The unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material: software piracy.
Now, in what part of the damn world do you all live in where robbory doesn't equal stealing? I really wonder.
Are you really that ignorant that you fail to realize that anyone can make up their own dictionary and assign whatever meaning they want to any word they choose, especially to further their political agenda. Take the word homophobe, it would normally have meant "fear of same sex". But the meaning was distorted to fit the pro homosexual agenda and given the association of "hate of homosexuals". Liberal media is to blame for this much in the same way "piracy" is being warped into something that it was not formally intended as meaning. Sharing is not piracy, period, nor is it wrong.
LiquidSolstice - 27 December 2009 - 11:22
I'm curious. Why does it matter WHAT you call it? Why do you not understand you're stealing potential profit? Who are you to say how much the author would have sold had it not been pirated? Can you predict the future? No?
Good, then stop trying to justify why you pirate. Admit it's wrong, and by all means keep doing it (as its your own fault if you get caught), but at least respect yourself enough to know it's wrong, thanks.
Maid of Orleans - 28 December 2009 - 13:02
You're so right, or something.
It's the same with the n-word. It wasn't always considered a pejorative word. But the meaning was distorted to fit the pro-black agenda and given an association with "bigotry" and "racism." Liberal media is partially to blame for this too.
Lawlz.