Digital media piracy is commonly characterized as the unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted works. Though no reliable statistics of the crime are claimed, the entertainment industry claims to identify nearly 95% piracy of music market and 80% of the online video market. The fact that the entertainment industry goes to great lengths to develop anti-piracy technologies, like digital rights management and expel pirates, it shows that digital piracy is a significant hurdle in the way of making profits in the branches of production.
Copyright piracy is a serious crime that undermines the progress of a healthy digital ecosystem. It also damages the ability of media companies to make money from their creations.
FIVE MAJOR TYPES OF DIGITAL MEDIA PIRACY:
1. Streaming site
2. Cyberlockers
3. Torrent sites
4. Linking sites
5. Peer-to-peer sharing sites
CONSEQUENCES OF DIGITAL PIRACY:
Along with legal trouble, digital piracy comes at a cost of cybersecurity. Hackers use pirated content to spread trojans, malware, and viruses. One opens the door to copyright violation and breach. Hackers wait for such opportunities to initiate cryptocurrency. Torrent downloading has its own drawbacks. While downloading a file from torrent, one shares the IP address, making it easier to track the user’s location. Firewalls and updates can be disabled too.
WAYS TO STOP DIGITAL MEDIA PIRACY:
• REMOVAL OF ENCOURAGEMENT:
The deletion of the incentive of the consumers to look for pirated content can lighten the grievances of the crime. This can be achieved by offering a good product and experience to the consumers at an affordable price. Consumers crave for excellent picture quality and buffer-free videos. The more the industry can meet up to these expectations at a realistic price, the fewer people will be driven towards pirated content.
• PR AND EDUCATION:
Nearly 42% of youths share log-in credentials. As the percentage is on a higher side, it is considered now as a normative crime. Influential efforts must be put in order to educate the viewers and to make them understand that piracy is illegal and a criminal offense. Campaigns should be put up to aware the viewers about the piracy activities, exposure to malware and inappropriate content and also about the adverse impact on the promoters of negative brand association with pirate sites.
• BARRIERS TO ENTRY:
The best way to reduce piracy is to develop a multidisciplinary approach that can enclose both contraceptive anti-piracy steps as well as pursuing criteria governing detection and enforcement.
• TECHNOLOGY AND PROCEDURES:
Piracy cannot be put to an end at one go. When someone is pirating, the act should be stopped immediately through technical intervention at the pre-transmission stage. Strict surveillance of these criminal activities is the key to success. Once a breach gets identified, stern actions need to be taken against the crime.