We can’t stop Internet pirates until we understand why they do it

Convenience. I don't watch one episode of a series a week or watch the movie DSTv thinks I want to watch on their time.

So Netflix is great and I'd totally go that route..but oh, it is also illegal and our internet is **** (especially for those of us living in complexes).

So basically...convenience.
 
Breaking news: We can't stop civil servants embezzling taxpayers' money unless we understand why they do it.

More Breaking news: We can't stop carjackings unless we understand why they do it.
 
Hamster said:
Convenience. I don't watch one episode of a series a week or watch the movie DSTv thinks I want to watch on their time.

So Netflix is great and I'd totally go that route..but oh, it is also illegal and our internet is **** (especially for those of us living in complexes).

So basically...convenience.
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+100
 
Arthur said:
Netflix is not illegal. Where did you get that notion? What law stops you from getting Netflix?
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Copyright law. As long as there's no specific distribution agreement in a specific region, it is illegal in that region.
 
Arthur said:
Netflix is not illegal. Where did you get that notion? What law stops you from getting Netflix?
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You are accessing content outside of your region by using proxies so it basically boils down to copyright infringement. You have hopeless ICASA and those Naspers ****ers with their "first right to content" to thank for that.
 
The man.

It is all about the man. And the hell with the man. In my instance, the man is Ster Kinekor, DSTV et al. Even the local music distributors. They have been taking the pîss and ripping off the public without recourse. So there is no way in hell I will support them. Netflix, iTunes, MP3 Russia et al all offer a chance to pay someone else for that content. That someone else is also The Man - just not the same man as the one who has been ripping me off.
 
The_Librarian said:
Simple. People don't want to go to shops, they want to download and watch on their devices.
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That's only part of it. It is true that price and distribution will combat piracy, but it will never do away with it completely.

The other part is the psychological drive to consume, shop and participate in culture, content and entertainment.

The popularity of a product itself is a factor, as well as fandom - people finding items released by their favourite actor, group, artist, etc.
 
Here's two clips by author Neil Gaiman. Piracy can be positive to content creators. I have posted the first video before.

[video=youtube;0Qkyt1wXNlI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qkyt1wXNlI[/video]
 
Clip #2:

[video=youtube;OOFDHEYvpwU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOFDHEYvpwU[/video]
 
Arthur said:
Netflix is not illegal. Where did you get that notion? What law stops you from getting Netflix?
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It's not illegal... but the way and place that you access it might be unauthorised. And if it is unauthorised, then it is infringing.
South Africa is not on the list of approved countries for Netflix distribution. Therefore you may not use methods to get around the restriction.
Your circumvention of the restrictions places you in the same category as the pirates.
 
Valerion said:
Copyright law. As long as there's no specific distribution agreement in a specific region, it is illegal in that region.
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I am pretty familiar with the copyright laws, conventions and treaties. It's far too sweeping to aver "it's illegal".

This is a matter between the copyright owners and those who contractually acquire a right to distribute and consume that content.

It's like saying "driving a BMW on Sixth Street is illegal". It might be in a particular case, such as when you steal my car and drive it without my permission, but it is not correct to abstract that universal from this particular.

Netflix are contractually prevented - for now - from selling other peoples' content into South Africa. But that can change should the copyright owners and Netflix so decide.

A subtle but important distinction.
 
Arthur said:
I am pretty familiar with the copyright laws, conventions and treaties. It's far too sweeping to aver "it's illegal".

This is a matter between the copyright owners and those who contractually acquire a right to consume that content.

It's like saying "driving a BMW on Sixth Street is illegal". It might be in a particular case, such as when you steal my car and drive it without my permission, but it is not correct to abstract a universal from a particular.

Netflix are contractually prevented - for now - from selling other peoples' content into South Africa. But that can change should the copyright owners and Netflix so decide.

A subtle but important distinction.
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Which is why I said "As long as there's no specific distribution agreement in a specific region".

Would you say that 8(1)(g) of the Copyright Act does not apply to Netflix? By bypassing measures Netflix has in place, it could be argued that you caused Netflix to transgress the law, therefore you also bear some responsibility.

http://www.cipro.co.za/legislation forms/Copyright/Copyright Act.pdf
 
Arthur said:
I am pretty familiar with the copyright laws, conventions and treaties. It's far too sweeping to aver "it's illegal".

This is a matter between the copyright owners and those who contractually acquire a right to distribute and consume that content.

It's like saying "driving a BMW on Sixth Street is illegal". It might be in a particular case, such as when you steal my car and drive it without my permission, but it is not correct to abstract that universal from this particular.

Netflix are contractually prevented - for now - from selling other peoples' content into South Africa. But that can change should the copyright owners and Netflix so decide.

A subtle but important distinction.
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It IS actually illegal in the USA....

A US court has ruled that simply changing one's IP address is enough to fall foul of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, if done to circumvent a deliberate block on accessing a site or service.
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Private/personal non-commercial use makes the Netflix issue nettlesome. And untested in local courts. If I am a resident of say the USA and I acquire a Netflix subscription, and then use private computer equipment to utilize my subscription for personal use in say SA, am I in breach?
 
When Are Proxies Illegal?

... There are some circumstances in which using proxies and VPNs are illegal. For example, some websites stream content that is only available to U.S. audiences who pay license fees to access it. In this case, the use of a proxy or VPN to access the content would be illegal, since you have not paid the license fee required to watch the programme. Before you use a proxy or VPN to stream content that has been blocked in your geographical location, closely read the website’s terms and conditions. Major VPN solution services like USA Proxy Server and HideMyAss strongly recommend that you check and comply with the third party website’s terms and conditions before use. Breaking these terms and conditions may or may not lead the third party company (aka the one you’re streaming from) to take legal action against you.
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http://www.addictedtomedia.net/2012/06/bypassing-proxies-is-it-legal.html
 
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