Less piracy by the volume? Trying checking out warez-bb.com
Its pretty much worse because the download speeds are higher and its much much easier to find what a pirate wants.

They are going to go after the hidden sites, and I know they always bust one every now and then. But these are always the small ones. I’ve never heard them bust open a huge case and taking out multiple heavily trafficked underground sites.

It wasn’t even reduced overnight. The site was only down four hours, and even in that time, everyone’s torrents were still downloading. The only people who stopped pirating were those who were going to stop before the case happened.

Too many sites are heavily linked to other sites, and pirating sites aren’t exempt from this. Even if people found out their favorite pirating site is gone, they will already know about another they can use just as well. The volume is increasing far faster than its decreasing, so something a bit more drastic needs to be done. Otherwise it really is futile.

Second, those hidden sites you mention almost certainly support LESS piracy by volume. Almost by definition, less-well-known sites will support less piracy than well-known sites.

Third, what makes you think law enforcement isn’t going after hidden sites? For example, law enforcement routinely busts child-pornography rings that use hidden sites.

Fourth, how do you conclude the TPB prosecution was futile? The amount of piracy was reduced OVERNIGHT when they unplugged the servers. Of course, this won’t stop some users from finding other ways to steal — but it reduces the volume.

It’s foolish to expect any single prosecution will eliminate piracy. But every one reduces the volume.

Because TPB is under attack, and not one of the sites with the bulk of the illegality hidden, it’s only encouraging sites to start cutting off public access. If they instead went after a site that was a lot less open, it would show the rest of sites that hiding from the law is harder than they thought, and might even have an impact on the amount of piracy.

As it is, it doesn’t seem like the case has done anything at all. I seriously doubt anyone will be scared away from pirating, and that other sites will be even touched anytime soon. Its almost as if the government was trying to show it can crack down on Piracy, but even when it seems they won, it was just an act of futility.

But they were very arrogant, and thumbed their noses at the law. And their defense was little more than a technicality. They didn’t even claim they were unaware of illegal content — only that THEY weren’t the ones making the transfers.

What an incredibly stupid defense. lol… All the prosecutors had to show, was that TPB had KNOWLEDGE of illegal activity, and they had INTENT to facilitate it. Cased closed.

Does that mean that merely putting up a big sign that says “DO NOT POST ILLEGAL STUFF HERE” would have saved them from a guilty verdict? I’m not sure about that… but the lack of any such sign is damning, surely.

This isn’t to say I’m die hard take everything. I bought all my Steam games, I have a whole shelf full of boxes and lone discs of old and new games alike, but most of my software is acquired from the bowels of the internet.

And we even talked about the legality of them being shut down during class today, and their defense makes sense. If some guy buys a Ford and mows down a bunch of little kids, is Ford going to be the one in trouble, or even whoever sold the guy the car? No, its the drivers fault. If anything, its just a lack of moderation by TPB’s staff, and last time I checked, bad moderation isn’t illegal.

And now I feel bad for 2D Boy…

It’s too bad about TurboSquid and Boeing. It kinda makes me wonder how games like Grand Theft Auto can get away with using car models that are virtually identical to their real-life counterparts seemingly with no licensing cost or disputes.

As far as copyright length goes, I can see both sides of the argument. It seems only right that anything created by someone should eventually fall into the public domain, long after it has benefited its creator. This is the best course for the good of everyone. But then, I also feel like the times have changed and this sort of law isn’t really applicable to the large franchises that have sprung up over the last century. Wouldn’t Mickey Mouse himself fall into the public domain as well? I’m probably ignoring some important part of the equation here, hehe.

However they decide to change copyright law, I just hope that we can eventually come to some sort of middle ground between pirates and producers. Piracy is becoming too rampant a crime to ignore, and if things don’t get fixed soon I am afraid that lawmakers, who are second only to the RIAA in being out of touch with technology, will clamp down on the internet and ruin the freedom of the whole thing.

Imagine I have a device that can scan and duplicate anything you give me. You give me an old book, and I run it through the machine, and instantly I have an infinite amount of that book. Suddenly, the book is no longer valuable. Everyone can have a copy for free, and there is no reason to actually go out and buy the book. The book publisher would be very upset, and rightfully so, because his entire business is gone.

Every industry has to face it , and draw a line between “lending” and “piracy”. Let’s say , I dump a pile of books outside my door and put up a post it note , “These books do [u]not[/u] belong to me. Pick up at your own risk. May be radioactive.” That is in no way illegal. The piratebay guys were doing something similar. Essentially , piracy should not be illegal , but it is and will always be morally wrong , and so it should be stopped , as that’s even more reason for companies (think Redmond) to make things heavily DRM laden. Additionally , if nothing is done soon , governments like The Government , will be making laws that will stop piracy. And our three fundamental freedoms (www.fsf.org). And OSS.

I’m a student in India. I use Photoshop (pirated) for some lightweight “stuff” I do. As I’ve already told you , I *rarely* pirate stuff. But then , I don’t make a single buck out of my Photoshop work. Then why , I ask should I have to pay Adobe? The solution would be a free edition , fully working , with everything , for people like me. While the people who use Adobe products commercially *will* buy a “proper” product with a commercial license and probably even donate later on. I would happily have bought Photoshop if I could. However , I could only pirate it. At the mere cost of Rs. 50 , which is approximately a dollar (USD).