Despite a lot of MPAA belly-aching that pirated copies of movies are severely cutting into their profit margins, the Box Office numbers suggest that people still really love going to the movies with their friends. For instance, Final Destination took in $28.3 million in its opening weekend; Inglorious Bastards - $19.6 million; and District 9 - $10.7 million.
Another overseas movie piracy proposal comes from Britain and France. In Europe, they're proposing mandates for Internet Service Providers to help fight illegal music downloads and movie downloads. Suspected online pirates will have their accounts slowed down and possibly even have their Internet access blocked.
"Digital piracy is a serious problem and a real threat to the U.K.'s creative industries," explains Geoff Taylor, chief executive of BPI, a group working to prevent illegal downloads of new music. "The solution to the piracy problem must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive."
Even though the U.S. Business Software Alliance supports imposing sanctions on those guilty of illegal downloads, it seems unlikely that such a heavy-handed strategy would be employed in America, just as the President and Vice President have announced efforts to expand broadband services to rural areas. Even so, it's an interesting suggestion to watch in the future.
Movie piracy continues to be a major headache for everyone in the entertainment industry. There seems to be little possibility of outsmarting every bootlegger around the world or stamping out every download of new movies.
Yet perhaps true movie lovers can be appealed to on a moral level. "I hear periodically, 'Well, Tom Cruise has enough money' or 'Tom Hanks has enough money,' " says John Malcolm director of worldwide anti-piracy operations for the Motion Picture Association of America.
"I would say to movie lovers, stick around and watch all of the credits. When you see the hundreds of names scrolling across the screen, those are the people whose talents contributed to making that movie, and they need to make a living."
To read more Action Against Movie Piracy
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