Following the BT/Newbinz decision, an argument about censorship, IP rights and business models broke out on Twitter. The discussion is presented here as a single post, collated with storify.
Weighing in on the debate featured here are: Miles Jacobson, studio director at Sports Interactive (@milessi); Ed Fear, producer and writer at Curve Studios (@edfear); Michael French, editor-in-chief of MCV and Develop (@Michael_French); Rob Fahey of GamesIndustry.biz (@robfahey); Steve Gaffney (@sdgaffney); GamesBrief’s very own Nicholas Lovell (@nicholaslovell); game designer Tony Gowland (@FreakyZoid) and technology journalist Stuart Dredge (@stuartdredge).
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MPA win high court case against BT, giving a clear path towards anti-piracy site blocking in the UK – http://bit.ly/nVIEZB |
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Great. Internet censorship is now here and legal in the UK. Yet another reason to emigrate. |
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@edfear umm. It’s been here for years Ed, for other illegal things. |
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Not advocating piracy, but news that movie studios are bullying (through legal action) legislation into being is not necessarily GOOD news |
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@Michael_French what are the negatives? |
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@milessi I’m just wary: dangerous lines can get crossed when cor porations gang up on service providers and demand their own way. |
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@milessi it’s only been to protect the public (which I still think is wrong). now it’s to protect corporations, which is a whole new level. |
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@edfear Yeah – I can’t help but be uncomfortable at seeing systems introduced to fight child porn co-opted to protect business interests. |
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@milessi These firms need to embrace/understand distribution, not attack the remote fringes of it. |
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@Michael_French there are systems & guidelines that could be put in place that could stop that. It’s better that persecuting the public imho |
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@Michael_French embracing distribution is fine. Embracing blatant copyright infringment and IP theft not fine. |
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@edfear is it better to have site blocking for flagrant infringement, or persecuting the public via the DEA? |
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@milessi No one’s saying they should embrace piracy or give up their rights. But money may be better spent fighting the source, not the web. |
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@Michael_French the source IS the web, isn’t it? |
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@milessi The source is the groups that distribute screeners and DVD-rips, etc., no? |
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@Michael_French the distribution in file sharing is those that are downloading, as they upload at the same time, no? |
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@milessi But that wouldn’t happen if the file hadn’t appeared in the first place. And anyway, that’s not my issue here. |
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@milessi The MPA has had access to an index site cut off. That’s just denial, isn’t it? Piracy will still happen with just one aid taken out |
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@Michael_French @milessi next logical step: total ban on public access to car boot sales and pubs |
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@michael_french @milessi forgot the smiley there 🙂 |
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Plus, my annoyance with dumb corporations trying to argue with the internet isn’t helped by the fact MPA is really just MPAA. |
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@Michael_French whilst I don’t know if this is fact, I expect this will be the first of very many cases. With many taken out, it’ll help. |
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@milessi And my concern is that it’s futile – sites will keep cropping up. |
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@Michael_French Do you have locks on your doors & windows? Or do you think that if you’re going to get broken into, it’ll happen anyway? |
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@milessi Haha, oh, you know that’s not comparable. |
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@Michael_French isn’t it? You are protecting your assets. The film studios are looking for ways to protect theirs. |
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@milessi Bits versus atoms, Miles, bits versus atoms |
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@nicholaslovell little difference, Nicholas, little difference. It’s still someone’s property and livelihood. |
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@nicholaslovell in the same way as if I paid you to do some research for me & then put said research online for all, you’d have an issue. |
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@milessi Newzbin2 isn’t a lock/key, if we continue the metaphor, it’s the phone book or a map. |
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@Michael_French disagree. It is the key to the lock, and they even they bung you the phone book too, and the entry in the phone book. |
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@milessi @michael_french I don’t think anyone is taking issue w/ revenue protection as a concept, just that it’s dngrsly close to censorship |
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@milessi I think you can have an issue with piracy without thinking that convicting or blocking is the way to go around it. it won’t work. |
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@sdgaffney but the internet is already censored for other illegal things. |
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@edfear what will work then, Ed? Or is “having an issue” with it but not doing anything about it acceptable to you? |
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@milessi more acceptable than what has been done today? absolutely. I’d rather focus on how to harness their interest in a way that benefits |
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@milessi I think it has all the difference in the world. That’s why so much of my research is bespoke, client-centric consultancy |
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@milessi Much of my generic, applicable to all, research I give away on the blog |
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@milessi I also think that, long term, you can’t win in the bits world with atoms strategies – smart companies will out-offer you |
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@milessi The “you” there was really “one”, but I didn’t want to sound like Prince Charles |
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@milessi agreed, but by taking the site itself down, not by instructing ISPs to block. Neutrality of ISPs should be protected as free speech |
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@Michael_French @sdgaffney is the comments section back up and unmoderated yet, or is your employer still censoring the Internet 😉 |
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@milessi @sdgaffney Er, it’s back. |
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@Michael_French @sdgaffney unmoderated? And do you allow cheat tools, Steve? |
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@milessi A weak misdirection. It’s a very different point |
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@sdgaffney don’t disagree but taking down sites outside of jurisdiction is the problem if people inside the jurisdiction can access |
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@edfear that’s marketing speak Ed – examples of how to fix the problem Hollywood have are what, exactly? |
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@nicholaslovell not unless they have the content they won’t. Content is King. |
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@milessi @nicholaslovell now *that’s* marketing speak. |
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@Michael_French @milessi I’ve never believed content is king. I believe Distribution is. And content that doesn’t adapt to how people … |
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@Michael_French @milessi … to how users want to pay for it (i.e. 95% get it for free, 5% get something special, emotional, status)… |
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@Michael_French @milessi … will not be content that survives |
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@Michael_French @sdgaffney for the record, I’m NOT saying I agree with what has happened today, but can’t see other ways. |
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@Michael_French @sdgaffney but think the “censorship” argument is fatally flawed. |
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@milessi @Michael_French @sdgaffney Bill Thompson writes well on the censorship issue (he broadly supports the ruling) http://bbc.in/oULsos |
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@milessi @michael_french ultimately, this is a business problem – how do you protect revenue, without needing gov to infringe free speech? |
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@nicholaslovell I disagree. It’s a very valid point in the debate as content costs to produce however it’s delivered |
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@nicholaslovell @michael_french @milessi if content isn’t important, why do you sell digital copies of your book for £99? |
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@nicholaslovell @michael_french @milessi shouldn’t you be giving it away? |
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@milessi I’m not surprised you disagree. But I subscribe to the theory that prices will fall to the *marginal* cost of production |
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@milessi For a digital product, the marginal cost of one more copy is zero. So we will eventually see prices moving to zero |
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@FreakyZoid @michael_french @milessi The model only holds when users are driven to purchase for emotional, status, personal reasons |
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@FreakyZoid @michael_french @milessi It’s something I wrestle with. Current conclusion: B2B advice is premium content, not driven by status |
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@FreakyZoid @michael_french @milessi I’m always trying to think of different ways to test that, though. I’m not fixed |
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@Michael_French @sdgaffney how is it not the same? Censorship is censorship. In both cases the censorship is to uphold the law. |
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@nicholaslovell @michael_french if there’s no content, Nicholas, there will be no films to distribute. |
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@nicholaslovell @michael_french @milessi can I dive in? I think the worry with the movie industry is they think shutting websites is the key |
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@stuartdredge @michael_french t’s a fair concern, but don’t see that in the current marketplace as a member of multiple on-demand services |
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@stuartdredge @michael_french apple tv, sky, qrocity all have similar, but large, catalogues day & date with DVD or earlier |
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@stuartdredge @michael_french prices are very good too – way cheaper than cinema and similar to blockbuster et al. |
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@milessi @michael_french but yes, agree. I just sense Hollywood is where music biz was 5yrs ago in terms of ‘sue/shutdown’ being priority |
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@milessi @michael_french with the studios figuring out how to squeeze more money out next time round when licensing (also: Spotify) 😉 |
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@milessi @michael_french i think games industry is ahead of Hollywood though, in terms of balancing piracy-fighting with biz innovation |
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@stuartdredge @michael_french whereas I think they want to protect their distribution models so that they can still produce quality content |
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@stuartdredge @michael_french much in the same way that many retailers insist on some form of copy protection for games historically |
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About Zoya Street
I’m responsible for all written content on the site. As a freelance journalist and historian, I write widely on how game design and development have changed in the past, how they will change in the future, and how that relates to society and culture as a whole. I’m working on a crowdfunded book about the Dreamcast, in which I treat three of the game-worlds it hosted as historical places. I also write at Pocketgamer.biz and The Borderhouse.
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