For years, we've heard complaints about using the term "piracy" to describe the online copyright infringement—but most have come from Big Content's critics.
As noted copyright scholar William Patry argued in his most recent book, "To say that X is a pirate is a metaphoric heuristic, intended to persuade a policymaker that the in-depth analysis can be skipped and the desired result immediately attained... Claims of piracy are rhetorical nonsense."
That may well be true, but copyright holders have long preferred the term, with its suggestions of theft, destruction, and violence. The "pirates" have now co-opted the term, adopting it with gusto and hoisting the Jolly Roger across the Internet (The Pirate Bay being the most famous example).
Some of those concerned about online copyright infringement now realize that they may have created a monster by using the term "piracy." This week, at the unveiling of a new study for the International Chamber of Commerce which argued that 1.2 million jobs could be lost in Europe as a result of copyright infringement by 2015, the head of the International Actors' Federation lamented the term.
"We should change the word piracy," she said at a press conference. "To me, piracy is something adventurous, it makes you think about Johnny Depp. We all want to be a bit like Johnny Depp. But we're talking about a criminal act. We're talking about making it impossible to make a living from what you do."
Translation: we should have chosen a less-sexy term.
Speaking at a very different event in Abu Dhabi last week, Rupert Murdoch's son James did his part to redefine the sexy "pirates" as common thieves and nothing more. "There is no difference with going into a store and stealing Pringles or a handbag and taking this stuff," he said. "It's a basic condition for investment and economic growth and there should be the same level of property rights whether it's a house or a movie. The idea that there's a new consumer class and you have to be consumer-friendly when they're stealing stuff. No. There should be the same level of sanctity as there is around property. Content is no different. They're not crazy kids. No. Punish them."
Yikes.
"Piracy" has certainly had negative effects on many sectors of the content industry, but some of the sturm und drang coming from people like Murdoch is just ridiculous. As Patry and writers like Steve Knopper point out, the disaggregation of the album has been one of the key drivers of lower music revenues—and movies are doing pretty well.
In fact, theaters are setting box office records. As departing MPAA Chairman Dan Glickman said in a speech to theater owners recently (PDF), "What a year! As John said, a 10 percent lift for the box office here at home...a 30 percent jump globally since 2005. Reversing a two-year trend, we have more people going to the movies...and more folks going more often...with a hard-core of movie fans—the 10 percent who go once or more a month—accounting for half of all ticket sales."
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