Is it Morally Acceptable to Illegally Download a Hollywood Movie - Essay Example

Is it Morally Acceptable to Illegally Download a Hollywood Movie Abstract Movie piracy is no longer a hot topic; it has existed for a while and has caused many problems to film industries. There has been loss of revenues and serious financial crisis forcing most of the industries to close. This essay tackles the issues about online piracy, as it looks into the legality of downloading a holly wood movie. In order to tackle this essay, several sources have been used. The sources provide information about general online piracy affecting film industries. Indeed, the practise of downloading Hollywood movies and any other movie for that matter illegally has been highly condemned, due to its adverse negative impacts to film industry; this can be seen through the discussion provided. However, there are advantages associated with piracy. This is because it is not a downfall as it may appear, but rather helps in marketing. But for the sake of the film industry, piracy should be highly discouraged. Keywords: piracy, copyright, film, industry, movie, download Introduction Internet is a growing source of information and entertainment for people round the world. It has changed the way people communicate and do their day to day businesses. Information can be spread faster and easier than there before. People on the internet, either friends or strangers, can share information. Such information includes text, voice and videos. All have the ability to circulate faster. Internet has therefore provided an opportunity for people to search for and download information to their hard drives or external memories. Most of the information found on the internet is copyrighted. Therefore it is illegal to share information without the permission of the owner. The violation of this law has often been associated with the internet users who often download and share copyrighted information without the owner’s knowledge. Internet users are supposed to pay for the use of online books, music, movies, software and many forms of intellectual properties. Most copyright owners are supposed to restrict the use of their work to avoid the sharing of their work without their permission. With the the presence of such online information, internet users often worry of the imposed rules concerning copyright. Restrictions may hinder the evolution of technology. One such online threat is piracy, which is defined by Hunnwell as “the illegal duplication and distribution of sound recordings” (2010, p. 8). The Legality of Downloading a Hollywood Movie Commercial pirates use Internet to transfer movie files from one country to another for download and subsequent duplication and counterfeits in other markets. As Waterman wonders, “no one can be certain whether Hollywood’s worst case scenario of movie revenue decimal due to p2p file sharing will materialize” (2009, p. 261). It is a fact that the markets for Hollywood movies do not only belong to the English speaking people, but also many others natives across the world In America, a copyright’s aim is included in the constitution. It is meant to promote the progress of science. Motion Picture Association of America has earnestly and successfully tracked individuals believed to be circumventing copyright devices. According to Waterman, “internet surveillance to detect illegal movie transfer activity has been stepped up, and numerous lawsuits have been filled” (2009, p. 261). In 2003, MPAA began a major advertisement campaign to inform the public that internet file sharing for copyrighted information is illegal and immoral, and thus the technology front is tending towards investment on encryption technologies that pirates and hackers would find harder to break. It is not a secret any more to say that piracy has become one of the biggest threats. As Johns says, “piracy is the biggest threat in this emerging economic order, and it is commonly represented as the biggest threat to it” (2010, p. 4). The RIAA’S Lawsuit Case Brianna Lahara and Dirwood Pickle were among the individuals to have entered the newspaper headlines in 2003, having been sued alongside many other individuals for making songs available on the internet for free. They were made to pay a fine of $150,000 for each downloaded song (Hunnewell, 2010). RIAA then described the illegality of using pirated copyright songs and movies as an act of stealing. It reminds people that stealing is still illegal and unethical. According to the report by RIAA, there is a fact that people are fond of downloading music for free; this makes many industries lose billions of shillings every year. At the time of the lawsuit, Lahara was aged 12 and still living with her mother (Hunnewell, 2010). Many people felt that the suing of underage children was inappropriate. RIAA however stood with the fact that there is no free passage to music piracy, simply because one has not come of age. Copyright laws have come in place to protect any published work. To play a CD in public, permission from the owner is required. Furthermore, derivative work is also protected. Concerning online file sharing and piracy, individuals representing the entertainment industries argue that “piracy is eating into their profits and that the real losers will be consumers” (Hunnewell, 2010, p. 28). More to worry is the economical implication of movie piracy; according to a report by Movie Picture Association of America, “annual losses worldwide due to movie piracy grew from 2.2 billion in 1997 to $3.5 billion in 2002” (Bocij 2006, p. 151). Due to the threats facing movie industries because of piracy, it is not morally upright to illegally download a Hollywood movie, just like any other investment. This is more so because a lot of finances have been used for production. Through illegal downloads, these finances will not be met and it would be a great threat to movie industry. Neutralization Theory Available information has it that internet piracy offenders do not see piracy as illegal or immoral. This report can be explained through neutralization theory, stating that individuals can manage to neutralize their wrongdoing by justifying their illegal activities as normal. Illegal downloader’s often claim not to be on fault concerning the download. The notion that “it is being done all over, no time for cinema, the industry will not lose too much...” are the sentiments that best describe neutralization theory. This theory is further fuelled by the following: Normalcy: A thought that everyone in the society downloads the movie and watches them. Relative acceptability: The claim that free movie download won’t kill anyone, there are crime activities that kill, but not movie piracy. Condemning condemners: The claim that movies are expensive, “how dare movie producers claim that movie downloader’s are unethical yet they charge high products” Gift for loyalty: The notion that free downloads are a benefit due to loyalty to people in the society. With very many reasons to pirate films, the internet is providing the platform and is a powerful tool because it is available to anyone, making the pirating members a leading film industry. The developing industries and studios have developed models to enable them enter into this market, for example the Apple company. On the other hand, movie pirates are not to be blamed; movie downloading is cheap and simple and negates the need to have a DVD. When a movie is available for download on internet, it makes marketing easier as it is easily available. Reference List Bocij, P. (2006). The Dark Side of the Internet. Portsmouth: Greenwood Publishing Group. Hunnewell. L. (2010). Internet Piracy. Minneapolis: ABDO. Johns, A. (2010). Piracy: The Intellectual Property Wars from Gutenberg to Gates. London: University of Chicago Press. Waterman, D. (2009). Hollywood’s Road to Riches. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Read More