Copyright infringement, known better as \u201cpiracy,\u201d exists not because people are inherently bad, but because business models are wrong.<\/p>\n
This is according to entrepreneur, investor, and former head of Google<\/a> SA, Stafford Masie<\/a>, who was speaking at the 2012 Product of the Year awards.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe people are inherently good not evil,\u201d Masie said. \u201cIf you give people something fairly priced with the necessary flexibility and a means to gain access to it wherever they are\u2026 I think you\u2019ll destroy piracy.\u201d<\/p>\n Masie went on to say that he thinks people want to pay for things, and that this is evidenced by the success of iTunes and the increase in music sales it caused.<\/p>\n People who would have otherwise pirated their music from services such as Napster and BitTorrent<\/a> instead opted to use iTunes because it was convenient, on terms they could accept, and easier on their conscience, Masie said.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at piracy – if you take a look at what people are doing – it\u2019s actually a great business model to get your product out there and upsell a premium version,\u201d Masie said.<\/p>\n