NetFlix Caught Stealing DivX Subtitles From Finnish Pirates 284
An anonymous reader writes with word that NetFlix recently opened its streaming service in Finland and was promptly caught stealing movie subtitles from a local DivX community site. How were they caught? NetFlix failed to remove references to the pirate site in the subtitles.
Re:but they will waste no time (Score:3, Interesting)
But with GNU you have the right to modify and redistribute and I kinda doubt Netflix allows that to occur so if it were licensed under GNU they would be in violation.
Not only does netflix require that all shows they distributed be tried down with DRM, they even forbid the author from including a blurb at the start of the movie telling viewers were to get a DRM-free version. [ninapaley.com]
Re:but they will waste no time (Score:5, Interesting)
Your post uses words that deprive me of profit. Please send me a check for $200,000,000,000.00 right away. The flaw is that companies can demand outrageous sums. I would support copyright if the claimed losses were attaced to their TAXED income.
You claim that you lost 20 billion? Sounds great, the IRS will be wondering when you will be sending in your taxes on the value of that property.
this will solve the rampant BS that is copyright overnight. Scumbags wont sit on old works hoarding them if they are taxed every year they are not in the public domain.
Re:but they will waste no time (Score:5, Interesting)
Except that they demand money. Ripping of some ip and sharing it for free is different from ripping it of and selling it for profit.
Bingo. Nail. Head. Bang. I'm a proud pirate (yarr!), and I love being able to give my friends access to movies and media they wouldn't otherwise be able to get on account of being too poor to afford it on their own. I don't charge (except postage and possibly the USB or SD Card cost), and I never will. It's counter to the spirit of it. Pirates recognize artists are entitled to compensation, and we tell people if they really like something to buy it or send money directly to the artist... and unsurprisingly a lot of my friends do just that. The fact is, most movies and TV episodes people only watch once or a couple of times. Take Hunger Games. I liked the movie, but I don't feel it has much replay value. So I'm not going to buy that. But NCIS? I psychotically love that show, and have picked up several disks on Bluray from pawn shops. It's something I'll be rewatching for years to come. Same with Battlestar Galactica or the new Batman trilogy. I've even sent money to the actors of Star Trek: TNG, because I love their work. And if I had more money, I'd probably go to concerts more than once in a blue moon.
Piracy doesn't mean not paying money -- for most of us, it's a way to stay in touch with our collective culture without breaking the bank. When everyone is talking about the latest Batman movie, and you're too broke to go see it in theatres, you're going to come to me and say "Hey, I wanna see what all the fuss is about." Well, okay then, here's a copy. And a few months later, I'm over at their house, and there on their shelf is a new Bluray or DVD of it. I certainly didn't give it to them, and they probably wouldn't have bought it if I hadn't exposed them to it ahead of time.
Piracy isn't anti-artist, it's very much pro-artist. It restores an element sadly lacking in today's market: Try before you buy. Netflix is the only thing that comes close, and you know what? I'm a pirate, and I have a Netflix. I love my Netflix -- it's cheap, and even with the DVD/bluray plans they have, I can get it faster than I can download it, at better quality, and it maintains my ratings so when I have a few extra bucks I can go back and look at my bucket list of things I wanna pickup the next time I'm out at the stores.
This is how most pirates operate: We love music and movies. We love them so much, we want to share them with others. But since we're not millionaires but working stiffs like you, we help people make sure that when they buy something, they're going to enjoy it. No buyer's remorse when you're a pirate: Every purchase will be something you love, and supporting an artist who deserves it on the merits of his/her work, not marketing buzz.