RIP thepiratebay OR Why I don’t like intellectual property OR FSCK THE MPAA

June 1, 2006

You know, I steal music.

 Yep, I’ve admitted I have a problem, so sue me. Why do I steal music, you ask?

 First, I hate the MPAA, and espically the RIAA. I feel that their sole motivation is to make a buck, and I feel that in doing so, they promote artists with little to no musical talent. I’m not one of those people that says "Today’s music is crap!", but I feel that it’s far harder to find decent music because of the near monopoly the RIAA has. The MPAA isn’t as bad, but only because of the large expense of creating a movie. They’re just as monopolistic, but with a more exclusive medium.

http://piratbyran-in-eng.blogspot.com/ 

I support artists at every oppurtunity — I will pay for something that I like and appreciate, but I refuse to support large monopolistic orginizations who try to tell me what to listen to.

 Next, I strongly oppose intellectual property.

 Intellectual property goes against all previously known market forces. In supply and demand, price increases and decreases in an inverse relationship to supply. Intellectual property is, essentially, the ownership of an idea. Unfortunately, there is to finite quantity, or supply, of an idea, so infinity is worked into the the equation. Logically, the price should be infinitely small, or zero, but intellectual property changes that.

IP creates a monopoly on an idea.  

In addition, intellectual property discourages competition. If a company can improve or market something better, power to them! 

Finally, intellectual property allows for abuse (patent law). Companies should be left to market devices to decide what’s best for the consumer, not patent attorneys. I want a product from a company that is #1 because they make the best products, not because they have the best lawyers.

So, what motivates this post?

Thepiratebay.org is under seige, me mateys. Those scurvy sweedish police bilge rats have taken our fellow pirate’s servers because they weren’t exactly awash with evidence against them in the first place)

Let me explain. The Pirate Bay, or TPB for short, is a large BitTorrent tracker based in Sweden. Torrent trackers help people distribute information amongst themselves. They give out tiny little files with a small code. This code, when entered into a torrent application, allows people to connect to a network of computers to trade a certain file. Files distributed on a torrent network can be anything. They can be files like a freeware Tetris game, they can be someone’s school essay, and, sometimes in violation of law, they can be copyrighted music, movies, applications, or games. This intellectual property, protected by copyright laws, is illegal to possess unless you have paid the owner of the copyright. That’s why people using Limewire and such are prosecuted by such organizations such as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and the MPAA (Motion Picture Assoctiation of America).

So, thepiratebay’s servers have been confiscated and taken for evidence. And the MPAA decided to gloat. And post their phone numbers. And herein lies the true meat of this post. CALL THE MPAA. I don’t care what you do, ask em to stop suing movie watchers, hang up, whatever. They deserve it.

For more information, contact:
Kori Bernards or Elizabeth Kaltman
818-995-6600
John Feehery or Gayle Osterberg
202-293-1966

 

And remember, if you don’t to use your phone number, there are other good ways of "contacting" them. Even free ones. Namely, Skype. You should probably have this handy little application by now, but in case you don’t, you can download it here. And with their their free SkypeOut to the US and Canada till the end of the year, you don’t have to hesitate to call them up. Your call is made through a regular landline, but you are sending the call through the internet, so you don’t have to worry about either your phone or your IP being traced.


Important disclaimer: Do not use Skype for anything illegal. Do not do anything illegal at all in relation to the closing of Pirate Bay. In fact, don’t do anything illegal no matter what.

Avast, me mateys! All cannons fire! 

EDIT: The pirate bay now has an unofficial blog set up for news and updates. http://piratbyran-in-eng.blogspot.com/