Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Movie Downloads That Are Illegal Are Often Very Poor Quality

By Ramon Mckee

These days, technology is so advanced that it is more or less commonplace to see one or more home computers in the house, with a high-speed connection to the internet. This has helped illegal movie downloads to become an increasingly big problem. In many cases, people do not even realize that they are downloading material illegally, and most people have no clue as to the impact of these illegal activities. It is, however, an important topic for modern society to be aware of, as illegal downloads affect a huge number of industries and individuals.

What is illegal downloading?

Every country has its own laws and regulations with regards to copyrighted material and downloads. This should serve as a basic guide to what may constitute illegal downloading of movies.

If you download a movie that is still playing in cinemas, or maybe has not even come out in cinemas yet, you can guarantee that the version you have downloaded is an illegal copy. Movies are usually released to DVD about three months after the film screens in theaters. Anything that is released to the public before that three month period has been obtained without permission.

There are a number of file-sharing sites available on the internet. If someone provides copyrighted material to someone else, without having permission to do so, they are acting in violation of the law. It is the case in many countries that those who download these materials are also committing an offense. In general, peer-to-peer downloads, like BitTorrents, are an unlawful way of obtaining films.

The impact of downloading illegal versions of films

The owners of any film make money through individual sales of that film, either through cinema tickets or movie rentals. If you bypass these methods and download a film without paying for it, you are effectively stealing from those people by preventing them from receiving a profit from distribution of the film. You may not care much if millionaire actors and movie producers miss out on a few extra dollars of profit, but the effect reaches further than that. Your local cinemas and DVD stores also rely on these sales to stay in business. If the problem of movie piracy continues to grow, smaller businesses may not be able to support themselves anymore.

Australia's film industry is particularly vulnerable to the effects of movie piracy. The already-struggling industry is said to lose several hundred million dollars each year in potential revenue because people are downloading free versions of films instead of choosing legal, paid options. This means that the capacity of Australian film producers to make more films in the future is greatly limited. This is a shame, as Australian films provide a means to explore the uniqueness of Australian culture, as well as providing a medium for creative expression and ingenuity. As such, it ought to receive full support from movie viewers.

Is illegal downloading a punishable offense?

As countries have different laws, this will vary. In many countries, such as Australia and the US, being in possession of illegally distributed copyrighted material can incur a fine of thousands, and sometimes millions, of dollars. Check the warnings on legal versions of films to find out what punishments exist in your country or region.

Illegal movie downloads are a huge problem, affecting many people across the globe. This ranges from movie producers to cinema outlets and DVD retailers. It can also affect you, if you are caught and fined. There are enough legal alternatives out there that there is no excuse for illegal downloading of films, so do the right thing and support film industries across the world with legal downloads.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment