Piracy and Peer-to-Peer Transfers

I know this was my presentation, but I added to it and thought it should go up.

 

Piracy. For our purposes, piracy is defined as;

the unauthorized use or appropriation of patented or copyrighted material, ideas, etc.

Peer-to-peer = ‘p2p,’ software that enables users to share copyrighted and non-copyrighted material over the Internet. (Limewire, bit torrents (isohunt, pirate bay), Napster)

With legislation such as the DCMA and SOPA we could lose p2p sharing altogether.  So..

Is piracy wrong? How many people, (show of hands) have downloaded something illegally? (Everyone, because playing of music on youtube is stealing according to the government and labels) To further the question and thought process, had you not downloaded said material, would you actually have gone out and bought it? Did the ability to get material for free open you to new information in any form that you may not have ever known before? Of course it did.

If what you downloaded was a song, are you aware that the beat to that song was most likely pirated from someone else, building off of a sound that was not original to the artist? Hip-hop, rap, rock, country, and almost all genres of music build off of past songs and stories. The only original music in our nations history is now free and open in the public domain. Also, revelations in math, science, and history are also all built off of other peoples work. For example, the Nazi’s spearheaded the work into sterilization and medicine. The whole world followed, and then further advanced their work. Is this not also piracy? 

The laws of copyright, however created, have circled around to stifle creativity, innovation, and invention. It protects the rich, corporations and the government. While at the same time we continue to find in today’s age that it hinders the free thinkers reaching to meet the needs of mankind. Even between corporations’, lawsuits, lawyers and injunctions, the ability to utilize even some of the most recent technologies is hindered because of claims to the effect of who created the original material. (i.e. Apple vs. Samsung) Our nation was built, founded and created on the idea of not honoring the copyrights of foreign nations. Is it not hypocritical of our nation to now hold developing nations to a different standard? For acceptance into the ‘modern world’, counties must abide to the standards of the ‘new world order.’

Lets examine the four main types of piracy as broken down by category.

I.                    Material that is created specifically for distribution. Lets say for instance that Madonna creates yet another CD of her tired worn out nagging sound. Again, this ‘sound’ is mostly stolen from past artists, while at the same time crafting her new noise off of the popular artists of that day, to appear ‘in style,’ (please note recorded music is dead). Instead of going out and buying this drab, over edited, non-realistic, computer generated garbage, you download it for free. Supposedly this is wrong. However, fuck Madonna. You just saved yourself $17.95, you listened to one track and heard how truly awful it really is. Trust me there are plenty of pre-pubescent females who will line up over night to see her in concert so Madonna can afford yet another face lift to keep the hope that she still looks sixteen. If not, good. That’s a little less garbage filling the gutters.

II.                  Peer-to-peer sharing of ‘non-main stream’ music, and material. This is material that one would not otherwise be exposed to without ‘p2p’ software. Lets say a local Reggae band out of D.C., ‘S.O.J.A.,’ (Soldiers of Jah Army) puts out a new album. This band tours, they do press but they are not ‘main stream,’ whatever that means, so they are only mildly successful. Your friend in DC sends you a link to a torrent file and you love it, finally some real music. You tell and share with your friends, and so on. Over a short amount of time the band starts to gain speed and support. They are able to go on tour to actual crowds and to real fans; they can quit their day jobs all thanks to the pirating of their music by their supporters. They started small, so they know what its like not to have much and appreciate what their fans have given them. So in return, their next CD is released for free, saying, “see you on tour!” This type of piracy makes me feel warm and fuzzy all over. This is simply people helping people, enjoying the fruits of Jah’s creations on mother earth, live well and prosper my brothers.

 III.      Peer-to-peer sharing of public domain material, of something you can get nowhere else. An example; someone, somewhere, found a wax cylinder in the basement closet of his or her grand-pappies old house. Magically, it is intact, and they are able to make a digital copy and upload it to ‘Limewire’. No one owns the rights to it, but this is a piece of history and deserves to be broadcast to the masses. Nothing about this is wrong, and in fact the Smithsonian will be calling soon to borrow it for historical cataloging. The idea that “p2p” sharing should be illegal across the board would destroy the ability for such material to exist openly.

IV.          Peer-to-peer piracy of material that is copyrighted; however this type of free distribution is condoned and actually encouraged by the copyright owners. Titles such as, “Steal This Movie”, “In Their Own Words” and (I am sorry to say)“Loose Change,” is material that has such a strong message to society, that the creators of it want nothing more than for you to take a few minuets away from looking at porn and kitten movies, and to actually open your eyes. Its not about the money, popularity, or power, they just want you to listen and THINK FOR YOURSELF. Take it, share it, copy it, remake it in your own language just stop playing Angry Birds and watching Family Guy, not all together, (I love Angry Birds) just for a short time.

Corporations and the government have and will do everything they can to hold onto the power and the money, while we continue to get it running start, no lube. I say screw that. If one thing is okay to be shared everything should be. There should be no lines, no gray areas, just simple and total openness. The minute we say, “well this is okay for this, but not for that” we lose the ability to control what truly is good and we allow ourselves to be told.  Told what is good, and what is bad, what is okay and what is not. Untwist your panties and realize the proof is in the pudding. If you make something and it sucks, it should go nowhere. But if you take the time to create something that matters, with a message that connects with the rest of the human race, not dependent on where or when, you will be successful, I promise. Kill your TV, peace out.