by HelenYoung, school of communication arts, University of Western SydneyOne in three adults in Australia has participated in movie piracy, according to a recent report by the Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft. But if we are a nation of digital thieves then we are not alone: an international report released this year said that stolen copyright material accounts for between one-fifth and one-quarter of all internet traffic worldwide.Even if these figures are taken with a grain of salt it is obvious that vast numbers of people are exchanging files – movies, music, TV and a growing number of electronic books – in ways that breach existing copyright and intellectual property regulations. Recent advertising campaigns by the Australian film industry compare movie piracy with stealing a car or a handbag. You wouldn’t, they say, steal either, so why would you steal a movie?
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/listen-to-internet-users-before-setting-rules-on-piracy-20110228-1bbmj.html