Popcorn time, a popular torrent site for streaming movies for free, has been shut down by the Motion Picture Association of America recently. The Motion Picture Association of America brought legal action against the PopcornTime.io as it had been providing illegal content to Popcorn Time. Obviously, the infringement of copyrights by Popcorn Time, which is commonly known as the Netflix for pirates, forms the basis of the Motion Picture Association of America’s argument urging Popcorn Time to shut down.
Chris Dodd, the chair of the Motion Picture Association of America has claimed that by shutting down illegal sites like Popcorn Time, it will protect their members’ creative work, the innovative legal distribution platforms and the millions of people whose jobs depend on a vibrant motion picture and television industry.
However, Popcorn Time is only a tip of the iceberg. In the internet, there are countless illegal torrent sites that allow users to watch movies and TV shows. For the Motion of Picture of Association of America to shut down all illegal online torrent sites it would entail massive effort, as there are just too many of these websites around.
The enterprises that provide such service do not only have poor business ethics, they also harm the movie industry. Firstly, they infringe the copyrights of the moviemakers. Instead of watching the movies in the cinema, people can watch the movies online free of charge now. The sale of movie tickets will greatly drop, and it will deteriorate the profitability of the movies. Secondly, the legal digital distribution platforms will have competitors in an unleveled playing field. As the consumers can now enjoy the movie for free, the consumers of those legal digital distribution networks are very likely to transfer themselves to use the free torrent sites although they are illegal.
If the copyrights of the creative work are not protected securely, the companies of the creative work industry will lose its uniqueness and will be unable to sustain in the industry.
Everyone loves free stuff, including myself. Undoubtedly, the provisions of free movie by those torrent sites is very tempting, yet if everyone does not respect the copyrights of creative work, no one will be willing to invest in the creative work industry. If people still want new captivating songs, movies and TV shows, we have to learn to respect copyrights, which is a crucial key in the creative work industry.
Source:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/mpaa-popcorn-time-1.3303428