Piracy Carries New Jail Threat In Thailand

[meemiathai]

Another viewpoint might see Mike Ellis as akin to a rapist who wants his victims jailed for being spoilsports who wouldn't lie back and enjoy it.

[meemiathai]

There will always be a market for ‘copy’ software until big companies set a lower price for the low wage Countries…

Take Windows OS + Office, just these 2 items cost more than the average Thai pays for a PC + would cost 3 months wages.

I guess you guys would talk differently if you were the author of software or music that is copied illegally.

And (state sanctioned) piracy in Thailand does not stop at computer software or music and movies. It goes into fashion and even medicine, machinery (spare parts, even for airplanes) etc.

Piracy will only stop when people understand that it is a criminal act, which might put other people's life at risk.

And about a the cost difference of original software to pirate software. Even the pirates make a hefty profit, when their only cost is an empty CD and a piece of paper for the wrapping.

If Microsoft is too expensive, consider installing freeware. Nobody forces you to use Windows Office. I use "OpenOffice", "Firefox" etc.

Actually this is similar to the double pricing in Thailand. I think the companys really don't mind people who can't afford the high price using prirate softwares. They only care about the ones who CAN afford but would start moaning that the poor people are not paying as much as they are and starts using prirate CDs as well. Another form of double pricing just different people to pay. And as usual people moan about it. Same same but different.

[Acquiesce]

Chinese are the worst

[Heng]

Chinese are the best.

[TonyLeung]

I actually don't quite understand the mentality of a lot of people. Piracy is illegal and it is stealing. It has nothing to do about "the little guy" etc.

You're right, you don't understand the mentality of the majority of people, in Asia in particular.

Worldwide public opinion is now firmly with the downloaders and sharers of copyrighted material (music especially) whom the vast majority of people feel are being victimised by the big companies when they are caught doing what most people don't really consider a crime any more.

I'm sorry if I didn't make that clearer in my earlier post.

You can either deal with that, or you can bury your head in the sand as the big companies are doing, which inevitably will lead to their downfall.

If you want to download movies and music or buy bootlegs, then go ahead. I do it all the time, but I have no reservations in my mind that what I am doing is violating copyrights. What I am doing is wrong, I choose to do it anyways. When you guys start talking about the big bad evil companies and how you violate copyright laws out of altruism, its makes you look like complete fools.

So just fess up and cut the bs.

[JustAnotherFarang]

Agree with the poster directly above.......... we all know its stealing in one form or another. But then there is a little pirate in the majority of us whether it be our collection of mp3, videos, games or more often than not, the very operating system we use.

Let he who has not stolen cast the first stone........ I doubt anyone here is whiter than white or maybe they just have a forgetful memory when it comes to things they have purloined in their lives

JAF

[Scott]

If you want to download movies and music or buy bootlegs, then go ahead. I do it all the time, but I have no reservations in my mind that what I am doing is violating copyrights. What I am doing is wrong, I choose to do it anyways. When you guys start talking about the big bad evil companies and how you violate copyright laws out of altruism, its makes you look like complete fools.

So just fess up and cut the bs.

TonyL is right and this is what concerns me when I read some of the posts. Whether you call "theft" or "infringement" or whatever, it's against the law. I think it's wrong, but I don't think it's wrong enough that I would question the clerk/store owner whether something is pirated or not. Given the opportunity to buy a 'legal' version from an illegal version, I'll take the legal one.

Companies exist to make money and artists (by and large) perform their art for money. Whether I think they make too much or something cost too much is of less concern to me, since these are usually things that I can live without.

[ClaytonSeymour]

I actually don't quite understand the mentality of a lot of people. Piracy is illegal and it is stealing. It has nothing to do about "the little guy" etc. These people aren't a bunch of Robin Hood's, they aren't giving the profits to orphans and widows (or paying taxes, I might ad).

In a sense they are Robin Hoods; they are providing orphans, widows and others the opportunity to buy items that otherwise they couldn't afford.