If the Swiss government is to be believed, piracy is actually good for business. According to a report from the Swiss government, they have decided that the current copyright laws are sufficient, because consumers end up spending what money they save from piracy on other entertainment anyway.
As much as a third of Swiss over 15 regularly pirate music, movies and games. What's more, the report says that the majority of them don't realize that they're breaking the law, despite the wide media coverage on the subject. And even though such a large percentage of people pirate content, the amount they spend on entertainment doesn't really change.
The money they save by piracy ends up being spent on other forms of entertainment, so content creators end up recouping their losses through concerts, cinema and merchandising. Even though they aren't paying for content per se, they still end up paying for the 'experience' that goes along with that content, which is something that you'll never be able to download.
And what about the studios and record labels who make their livelihood off of content? The Swiss government doesn't have much to say to them in the report, other than that they have to “adapt to the changing consumer behavior.” The Swiss are basically saying that it's your fault, not ours.
Switzerland already has very lax piracy laws, and that's not going to change any time soon. Perhaps studios and record labels aren't losing quite as much as they would have us believe; they're just not making as much as they would like.
It looks like piracy remains perfectly legitimate -at least in Switzerland. So, is this the right move? Is it possible for content creators to remain profitable while coexisting with piracy? Tell us what you think on the Neowin Forums. Meanwhile, you can view the full report in all of its German glory right here.
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