Piracy of "The Valley of Frozen Tears"

[ruemere]

an illegal copy of a PDF IS a lost sale, just as an illegal copy of a piece of software is a lost sale.

An illegal copy is a lost sale, huh?

According to a simple law of logic, a true premise cannot lead to a false conclusion.

Time to falsify your statement:
- a copy of a backup of the original file (illegal in most countries) [the premise evaluates to TRUE] is therefore a lost sale
[FALSE. No person is going to buy a second copy for the purpose of backing up a backup, whereas, as every network administrator can testify, it is mandatory to make multiple backups of critical content].

I think it may be a good idea to sit back, relax and think your statement over.

Regards,
Ruemere

PS. Anyone, who supports blind enforcement of copyright laws is strongly advised to visit this page The EuroLinux File on Software Patents, containing examples of software patent abuse.

PS2. My favorite example of patent abuse:
"A word processor screen layout that simultaneously displays the global page heading/footing and the contents of the current page, and permits you to edit either. [#4,984,162]."

 

[dsfriii]

copyright damages are not based on the net worth of the victim.

It can be based on the net worth of the individual copies of the product, or it can be based upon the net worth of the derivative product it is based upon. In the case of PDFs, this issue would align with counterfeiting, since the infringement involves exact duplication of the existing work. In that case, the compensatory damages would be based exclusively on the wholesale cost of each and every illegally distributed copy that can be traced back to the infringer.

I think we can all agree that IP theft will cause monetary loss. But have you thought about how your triad has made you and your company look to the public that has read this thread. I for one now have a negative view of you and your company and may not buy products from you in the future. Think about it.

 

[BryonD]

an illegal copy of a PDF IS a lost sale, just as an illegal copy of a piece of software is a lost sale.

This has already been addressed.

But, quite simply, saying that you lost a sale because a copy was made is wrong in exactly the same way that saying copying is ok because "I wouldn't have bought it anyway" is wrong.

Both attempt to substitute a wholely unreal hypothetical for the truth

 

[Turanil]

I am prone to believe this:

- Some gamers buy PDFs while others don't. Then, if they get the opportunity to get a copy of a pirated document, I think it won't change their habit of gamer - customer. So, those who are used to buy stuff will probably still buy stuff - except they won't pay for the one they illegally did get for free. But on the whole, probably as much stuff as before will be sold overall, except that people will have more PDF on their hard drives than they should have got for their money.

- If you finally don't sue the pirate, you could at least tell on the forum that this is your work which is pirated, that it took much time and effort to produce it, and that, well, it hurts you to have it given for free like that by uncaring people who don't respect others. I think, that could help other people NOT do the same thing (i.e.: posting a PDF for all to retrieve) if they get the idea someday. People usually will do illegal things much more easily when they don't see it's hurting someone that exist for real.

 

[Greatwyrm]

OK, then give me the answer for a real case.
The equation may be simple. The point is, you can not fill in the variables.
Solving this simple equation is virtually impossible.

And yet, the RIAA seems to be able to do it. They can come up with a dollar amount that they think is appropriate for people pirating music. It seems somehow to be based on the number of songs you have and the number of people you give them to, since people with more songs seem to be paying more.

 

[BryonD]

And yet, the RIAA seems to be able to do it. They can come up with a dollar amount that they think is appropriate for people pirating music. It seems somehow to be based on the number of songs you have and the number of people you give them to, since people with more songs seem to be paying more.

No, they can only account for some piece. They have no idea how many they have failed to identify.

There is not tangible loss to them that in any way can be used to measure the "true" extent of the activity. Unlike theft.

If copyright infringement had the same effect as theft, they could quantify the TOTAL loss and simply say that they can not identify who and when much of it is occurring.

That is what I claim they can not do and you have completely missed the target of showing anything different.

 

[Kalanyr]

The RIAA also has quiet a lot of talk back from various groups about how silly their evaluated damages are. Because I can make up a figure doesn't mean its the right figure, I mean I can pick the value of $2.60 for total damages, and if I had as much clout as the RIAA I might actually get (some) people to believe it too.

 

[Greatwyrm]

No, they can only account for some piece. They have no idea how many they have failed to identify.

--snip--

That is what I claim they can not do and you have completely missed the target of showing anything different.

By your own admission, they can "account for some piece". That means they can identify a definite financial loss. Just because they can't identify the entire loss doesn't mean they're not entitled to go after you for what they can identify.

The RIAA's figures may be silly, but plenty of people are taking the settlement deals rather than roll the dice with a jury. That tells me they're a bargain for the defendants.

 

[James Heard]

That's because when you decide to sue someone for billions of dollars and 'only' settle for tens of thousands of dollars, while you're going after college students who have no financial support except for student loans and mommy and daddy...gee, what would you pick? It's just extortion, "I'll break your legs or you can give me your rent money." Plain and simple.

 

[RangerWickett]

I have the perfect solution to combat piracy:

[deadpan]
Everyone who isn't pirating the book, should buy copies of the book, to show their support. I mean, I know a few E.N. Publishing books are being pirated, but if a few hundred people each bought $15 of our pdfs, it would go a long way to stopping those nasty pirates from ruining our industry.

Really, everyone should just buy more gaming products. I mean, that $15 would be, what, three lunches at McDonald's? Buy some lunchmeat and bread, make your own sandwich to taste, and support your friendly local online gaming companies.

It's the only way to reveal the pirates for the terrorists they are. You cannot destroy our way of life!
[/deadpan]