No SOPA
Entry posted by Josh ·
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As the founder of Leadwerks Software, software piracy is an issue that has directly affected my income. We solved the piracy problem by turning our product into a service. Only paid customers can access our community website and get full use of our product. Piracy rates dropped to virtually zero after that. I consider our piracy problem totally solved. The marketplace changed, we adapted to provide a better service, and overall both the customers and company are better off than before.
Netflix, iTunes, and Steam proved that paid services can compete and win against piracy sites. Unfortunately, the copyright holders have been resistant to this model. They won't distribute their movies through Netflix, nor will they set up their own movie streaming system. Digital streaming media isn't the future, it's the present. Many copyright holders are choosing not to compete in the marketplace, then crying foul when no one participates in their archaic business models.
Why are copyright holders choosing not to compete in the standard distribution model for digital media? It's because they don't want a level playing field. They enjoyed a monopoly on everything you watch, read, hear, and think for decades. They can't stand a free market, which is what the Internet allows. The idea that an artist, product, or idea could become popular by organic means outside their control is terrifying to them. They only want you to have the choices and ideas they create for you: Justin Beiber, Republican/Democrat, and McDonald's.
Old media's death is imminent within the next 10-15 years unless they act now. SOPA is about handing the Internet over to old media. I don't know exactly how it will play out, but we know their ultimate dream is to limit you to a handful of "channels" all owned by the same company. This bill has nothing to do with piracy, and everything to do with control and censorship.
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