MPAA (Australia) versus Organised Crime
p2pnet news | MPAA News:- The MPAA (Australia) is engaged in an all-out, no-holds-barred war against Organised Crime in Oz.
“Pay-TV operator Foxtel and Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft (AFACT) - which represents the film and TV industry - are fighting to clamp down on the escalating influence of organised crime,” says, Ben Jones points out in TorrentFreak, quoting The Australian.
Phewww. Australians can relax, then.
Time Warner, Viacom, Fox, Sony, NBC Universal and Disney are on the job.
“A 2005 study by LEK Consulting suggested $233 million a year was being lost by the local movie industry alone through piracy,” says the story, going on:
“Other analysts say the figure for the entire media is hundreds of millions of dollars more, given how the rapid spread of pirate technologies is affecting first-run content.”
But wait.
LEK?
Surely that’s the company which came up with a horribly inaccurate report used by Hollywood front organisation the MPAA to snow American politicians and the mainstream media?
Didn’t it state categorically 44% of domestic US losses were down to file sharing students? And after the damage had been done, wasn’t it forced to admit the figure should have been 15%?
And didn’t Educause later say it was nearer the 3% mark?
Comprehensive anti-piracy strategies
It also transpired Kevin Mayer (right), a senior Walt Disney executive, ran LEK’s global media and entertainment practice.
Before he left LEK to join Disney in June, 2005, his responsibilities included “the creation of comprehensive anti-piracy strategies for motion picture studios and trade associations,” according to his bio, says Portfolio.
Mayer is currently executive VP, corporate strategy, business development and technology group at Disney, wrote Sam Gustin, continuing >>>
It is unclear what role Mayer may have played in the 2005 L.E.K. survey that the M.P.A.A. now says was erroneous.”
For now, the M.P.A.A.’s position appears to be, “Oh well, we screwed up. But hey, 15 percent is bad too, ya know?”
Now The Australian report is implying LEK is reputable and reliable and its stats are accurate and over in Oz, a “long-running” landmark court battle known as the ‘Mod Shop Case, “where a successful judgment was found against a syndicate operating a server that allowed various shopfronts to sell unauthorised Foxtel subscriptions,” was the first case in the world to have a successful judgment against internet-based pay-TV piracy, it says, continuing:
“While this case did not involve a particularly sophisticated or organised group, it’s a good example of the lucrative nature of piracy and the long battle broadcasters face with rapidly changing pirate technologies,” Mr Mulready, a former police prosecutor and detective, said.
“In this case, Foxtel took civil action against the syndicate, but the federal police are now better equipped than ever to address large-scale piracy networks.”
Rehashing failed campaigns
Meanwhile, “there is a plus side, in that AFACT have established a market price it believes consumers feel to be the worth of a DVD,” says Jones, adding >>>
In all their estimations of yearly capacity, they give a ’street value’ of roughly $5AUS, which is about $4.77 US (3 Euros, or £2.40). In this they differ from the campaign in the UK, where the value given was some 20 times greater. In this, while telling lies, they are also more truthful.
In the end, no ‘criminal gang’ will forego their drugs, weapons or other lucrative money-making operations for DVD piracy. The reasoning is as plain as it is simple. With drugs, or guns they have small, highly valuable goods that can’t be easily obtained elsewhere. As the world becomes increasingly connected, and peer-to-peer becomes simpler to use, more reliable, less time consuming AND more powerful, the potential returns on selling bootleg DVDs reduces, ask Tony. Ten years ago, people had dial-up, and hard drives were maybe big enough for 2-3 DVDs. Now you can buy terabyte hard drives, and even the TorrentFreak researcher, living in the middle of rural Georgia, 10 miles from the nearest shops, has an 8Mbit connection.
The reasons for comparisons become clear when you hear the comments of Foxtel’s head of Fraud, Mark Mulready (a ‘former police prosecutor and detective’), who told The Australian “Police should have all the same investigative tools to fight piracy they currently have for organised drug trafficking or money laundering,” so, as usual, it’s about not having to spend time and money on civil cases, but having the taxpayer foot the bill, and the ability to use law enforcement to patch their business model.
Rehashing failed campaigns is a sign that the industry has no new ideas, and is desperately trying to avoid dealing with the root of the problem - themselves and their greed. When even the police are so into ‘piracy’, that there are too many to prosecute, it’s time to stop sticking your head in the sand, and deal with the causes.
Stay tuned.
.
.Stumble It!
TorrentFreak - Australian Drug Mafia to Sell Pirated DVDs?, July 1, 2008
horribly inaccurate report - Huge Hollywood mistake in student download stats, January 23, 2008
nearer the 3% mark - RIAA, MPAA, pressure US schools, March 22, 2008
Portfolio - When the “Blame the Kids” Strategy Backfires, January 23, 2008
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