'Dark Knight' on its Way to Becoming 2008's Most Pirated Movie

[ Thanks to Matt Asay for this link. ]

"Yes, many people steal online music and video because they simply want a more convenient way to consume it. Rubin suggests that "It turn(s) out that most people do not want to steal music--they just want convenient online access to it," and I agree with that. Back when Fellowship of the Ring came out, I downloaded the movie from an IRC network and watched it for months before it hit retail. However, I also bought both the standard and extended versions, plus I saw the movie three times in the theaters. New Line Cinema made its money from me, and I got to conveniently watch the movie well before its retail release.

"Yet my desire for convenience shouldn't have trumped New Line Cinema's desire for control and profit. I had no right--legal or moral--to pirate the movie to satisfy my own whims. I was wrong, and that wrong could well end up ensuring that fewer "Dark Knights" and "Fellowships" get created."

Complete Story

Related Stories:

• Straight Talking About the Unspeakable ACTA(Nov 20, 2008)
• U of Tennessee Blocked P2P Sites Before RIAA Law(Nov 20, 2008)
• Apple's New MacBooks Have Built-in Copy Protection Measures(Nov 20, 2008)
• Liability for Software When Life is at Stake (Nov 19, 2008)
• A Copyright Call to Arms(Nov 13, 2008)
• Cory Doctorow: Why I Copyfight(Nov 09, 2008)
• DRM Firmware Adopted by Mobile Linux Stack(Nov 07, 2008)
• Harvard Professor Challenges RIAA Anti-Piracy Campaign(Nov 06, 2008)
• Piracy - The Enemy of Free Software(Oct 30, 2008)