When did IP become so worthless to people?

[Mendoza]

I'm not a saint.

Not now, not ever probably.

I bought hk anime dvds in my younger days, i downloaded some music a few times, I even watched streaming stuff on occasion, but eventually I stopped. I got fed up with how crappy bootleg stuff was and I started to try and support the things i wanted to see more of. The anime industry in America started to take a tumble, and i decided, better be part of the solution rather than the problem.

So when i read message board threads like this I just don't understand people.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20 ... ver-ip-man

Why is that anytime a company tries to defend its IP (wow in this case its doubly true ) There the ones doing something wrong?

If not that, then there chastised for wasting their time because you cant fight piracy.

Its not the bad old days people. We don't have to swap third generation vhs fansubs anymore. Hell most anime isnt even that expensive anymore. Hell lots of it is even free to stream at your leisure. People don't do this crap for any idealogical purpose, they do it to get free stuff. Sure their lawyer does seem to have kind of a sleazy air about him, not because he handled porn piracy before, but some of his tactics. Still doesnt change the issue. Hell, I think porn stars have every right to seek damages for piracy of thier work considering what some of them do for money.

Does IP mean so little to everyone?

I see a parallel with students at times. Plagiarism is a serious matter, but nearly every time i bust someone for it, even the most grievous intentional cases, they act like im just being a dick. "Why you got to make such a big deal out of this, its just a term paper?"

Well I'll tell you why, cause someone put their blood, sweat, and tears into what you took from ten minuets of google searching. I wrote a 100 plus page thesis and did it all by the letter of the rules. It took what seemed like forever, and it was one of the hardest things i ever did.

If somebody lifted from that for their own benefit without citing me, I tell you know, Id want my pound of flesh.

I know this isn't a popular opinion, and there have been threads like this before, but I just need to rant a bit.

[Flake]

The mooch factor among a lot of the Japanese cartoon kids is pretty high - that's where a lot of the resentment probably comes into play here. During my brief fling with japanimation back in the late 90's I was kinda sickened by how fucking worthless most of the community was when it came to supporting the production companies.

[Hatta]

Oh no, not another piracy thread!

In short, it's basic laws of economics. Copies are available at zero marginal cost, so the price the market can bear is also zero. There's no way around this fact. The only thing creative types can do is start charging for their creativity, and not worthless mechanical reproductions of that creativity.

[Flake]

Oh no, not another piracy thread!

In short, it's basic laws of economics. Copies are available at zero marginal cost, so the price the market can bear is also zero. There's no way around this fact. The only thing creative types can do is start charging for their creativity, and not worthless mechanical reproductions of that creativity.

Or create incentive to dissuade undesired behavior, another tenet of economics.

[MrPopo]

The mooch factor among a lot of the Japanese cartoon kids is pretty high - that's where a lot of the resentment probably comes into play here. During my brief fling with japanimation back in the late 90's I was kinda sickened by how fucking worthless most of the community was when it came to supporting the production companies.

I'd say it's no worse than the mooch factor of people who watch western shows. I watch House, Family Guy, and South Park all off of torrents. I think they need to come up with a new way to monetize, just like the music industry. With music you have a mixture of cheap digital downloads, concerts, and merchandise. With TV shows (of all kinds) you have the initial money from advertisers, now you need to provide more than just a DVD of the episodes. Give me a plushie of one of the cute characters, or release an art book or production diary.

[Flake]

I think they need to come up with a new way to monetize, just like the music industry.

It's difficult to find that new way to make money when people are knocking each other down to find ways to avoid having to pay for their entertainments.

I think in the long run we may see an industry-wide contraction as present levels of competition combined with rampant piracy remove the incentive for many television production companies to keep their studios going.

Despite what Hatta might think, there really is no such thing as a free lunch. Eventually there is a cost and in this instance it's going to be a reduction in quality and variety.

[o.pwuaioc]

Not to argue against "piracy" in general (despite really hating that term, because let's face it, it's *not* piracy), there is a huge difference between plagiarism/copying copyrighted works for profit and copying copyrighted works for personal consumption. I'm less concerned about the latter, but am adamantly against the former.

[ZenErik]

I have almost a TB of anime on my HDD, to be honest. But I am a collector and support series I like when they are released here or are released in Japan with English subs. I can't really justify my piracy, but it does help me decide what is worth buying. I dont enjoy streaming.

That said, most of my friends don't buy a thing, which really bugs me. Dont you want to support artists who create work you love so that they may continue creating? Yea, you spend hundreds on cosplay but can't even buy a single release in a year. Ugh.

I'm not sure how much I have on DVD/BD right now. Probably 60 to 70 releases.

[jfrost]

I think plagiarism is tacky, but shouldn't be against the law. Lots of things are immoral but aren't or shouldn't be illegal.

[Flake]

I think plagiarism is tacky, but shouldn't be against the law. Lots of things are immoral but aren't or shouldn't be illegal.

I'm not arguing the morality of it. It's better, in my opinion, to keep these conversations in the realm of economics.

I'm just using common sense - if you take but never give, what incentive does the producer have to continue to make anything worth taking?

Yea, you spend hundreds on cosplay but can't even buy a single release in a year. Ugh.

That's pretty much what I had in mind when I labeled the Japanimation kids as a bunch of moochers. It's ironic because a lot of them identify with one another solely through a medium that they feel indignant about having to put any finances towards.