GrinchyNet

Recently, the boys that run The Pirate Bay, the most infamous of the bit torrent trackers out there, were found guilty of copyright infringement. It is possible they will be spending some time in jail and paying a fine of around three million. I'm sure the RIAA and the MPAA and whomever else thinks this is a major victory but it really isn't and I will give you my personal reason why.

Last weekend we took my three year old son to his first movie. To save money we decided on going to a matinee. The movie we went and saw was Monsters Vs. Aliens. The early bird price for this fine feature file was $7.25 for each adult, there were three of us, and $7.00 for each child, there was three of them. That comes to a whopping $42.75 and since I bought the tickets online I got hit with a surcharge which tacked on another $6.25 bringing my total to $49.00 just to sit down. Two large popcorns and four medium drink ended up costing $29.00. So to sit down in a theatre and enjoy some refreshments and to give my child an experience it set me back $78.00 and the movie wasn't that good in my opinion. The kids liked it and I guess that is what matters but I don't think they liked it enough to warrant 78 bucks.

I could have saved myself the money by downloading the movie from The Pirate Bay or any one of the trackers publicly available. Once downloaded I could have either burned the movie to disk or hook my laptop up to my big screen TV. I then could have popped some microwave popcorn that I can get as a 15 pack for around 13 dollars. I then could have bought a case of soda that I could probably get on sale for about 5 bucks. So I would have been able to see the exact same movie in the comfort of my own home and had the same snacks as the theatre for a fraction of the cost. Plus, I wouldn't have to deal with kids running around, talking or the idiot who seems to need to answer his/her cell phone. I could have also watched the movie in my underwear if I so desire. So really, why should anyone pay that much money to see a mediocre movie in a crowded theatre when you can do it for free from the comfort of your own home? Hell, if you are savvy enough you don't even have to use your own internet connection.

Of course there are moral reasons not to pirate movies but my bank account overrides any morals I may have in regards to copyright infringement.

The bottom line is smacking the Pirate Bay with a fine and jail time does nothing in thwarting internet piracy. As long as prices to go see crappy movies keeps increasing people are going to find and use alternatives. Same goes for video games and music. Music has come along way in providing cheaper methods for getting music but that cannot be said for the movie industry.

Yes I am a pirate. I do not do it as much as I used to for various reasons, none of which is the fear of being caught or because I feel bad for the industries that claim they are losing millions, especially in a time where every penny counts.