VERY well written Thomas - kudos! And since I'm delurking briefly, kudos also to Soft for the patience he has exhibited in the the recent discussion.
[goes back to lurking] On 03/14/2010 09:29 PM, Thomas Grimshaw wrote: > This post is likely to incur some feelings of emotions in a lot of you; > I ask that you bear with me and be open minded towards these words. I > recognise that many of you won't agree with me; it is but an attempt to > try and shine a searchlight into the hysteria. > > *The Stark Truth* > > Firstly, a reminder of the stark truth which has already been presented > in this thread. Every single DRM technology which has been implemented > has been broken - CSS, BluRay's AACS and BD+, Apple's FairPlay, Windows > Media DRM, they're all broken wide open. Any content which is delivered > to the viewer can be copied. > > *But we need DRM, right? > > *Well, no. In fact, DRM has been a major contributing factor to the > incredibly widespread problem of music piracy. I don't mind admitting > that i've downloaded some albums before from a website. Did I do this > because I don't have money? No. Did I do this because I don't want to > spend money on music? No. I did it because I wanted to have lossless > FLAC files on my portable player, and iTunes and alternatives only > offered DRM-encrypted low-bitrate rubbish. > > *Piracy is a war of convenience.* > > In order to appropriately address this problem, you need to take a step > back and ask yourself exactly /why/ people commit copyright fraud. This > can be for any number of reasons, including: > > - They don't want to wait for something. > - It's easier to pirate something than it is to find it and buy it. > - The merchant doesn't have a sensible price structure. This isn't the > same as "I don't want to pay" - most of the time they DO want to pay, > but not an obscene price > - The content is too restricted and they can't use it > - They dont' know they're doing it (victims of the below) > - To make money. > > The only "real" pirates in this circle of intellectual property > violation are those who are doing it in order to make a profit - but > this is a tiny, tiny proportion, and also the most manageable case. > > *Don't attack your customers. > > *Let's observe Microsoft Windows Vista. Microsoft spent years and many > millions of dollars building a strong product activation system for > Vista. This was a major release for Microsoft, and they were determined > to stave piracy - so much so that they ended up having to drop features > and rush the QA process significantly. > > Did it work? It was a disastorous failure. If one wants to pirate > Vista now, one can just download an image from many hundreds of torrent > sites, and the images install with absolutely no intervention required - > these images have simply ripped out the DRM so that the "end-user" > pirate doesn't even notice that activation ever existed. > > The only people who are actually affected by the DRM are Microsoft's > genuine customers. http://tinyurl.com/yjhom3t* > > Know your enemy. > > *I own and even have developed software that can copy any content from > second life. Have I ever used this to violate copyright? Nope, I just > didn't want to spend time building in content protection when the > software was only for my use (to export my own builds, animations etc to > opensim). > > The point is this - the public is not your enemy. Just because the > content can be copied, it doesn't mean that people will do it. I'm not > talking about deterrents - if someone decides to do it, they can and > they will - i'm talking about our target audience, the citizens of > Second Life. Most users of "copybot" viewers are caught and banned > because of a report by a member of the community - not the creators. > Only a very tiny portion of Second Life users rip content. > > *So what can we do? > > *Please excuse a possibly callous tone - but STOP whining and start > thinking outside of the box. You *will never be able to stop piracy > completely* - so don't even try. I've already explained why I think that > piracy is a war of convenience, and the solution is simple - make your > content more convenient. > > - Maximise availability. Have multiple store locations, all visible in > search using sensible keywords. List your item on e-commerce sites such > as xstreet. > - Maximise accessibility. Keep your stores lag-free, don't use silly > teleport routing, and make your store organisation transparent. > - Maximise attraction. Make sure every one of your products is very > clearly described, with a very clear demonstration so that people know > what they're buying. > - Don't overprice. By all means, make a profit, but consider the real > value of your product - the better value for money your product is, the > less people will be tempted by stolen goods. > - Don't intimidate your customers. For goodness sake, shut off those > stupid "copybot protection" scripts (they don't even work), and take > down those copyright notices. If these people are in YOUR store, it > means they're not in a store selling pirated stuff. Treat them with respect. > - Maximise support. Keep your genuine customers very well cared for. > Word of mouth is the biggest weapon in your armoury. Keep product > updates rolling, if applicable. > - Keep permissions sensible. I can't believe the number of times i've > bought an item and it's been "no mod" for no proper reason, and I can't > resize it to fit my avatar. > - Innovate. Keep producing, keep making new stuff. Every new thing you > sell is another reason for people to come to your store and not a > thief's location. > > *What about those people selling my stuff? > > *If they're actually trying to profit from your intellectual property, > obviously they dont' deserve any of the respect mentioned above. > Fortunately, the lab respond quickly to properly formatted DMCA > complaints and takedowns, and almost always action them before the thief > has had time to withdraw the funds. > > Be vigilant, keep a watchful eye on xstreet. If you find a violation, > gather evidence.. don't contact the seller, or they'll panic and move > their stuff elsewhere. Submit a properly formed DMCA complaint to linden > lab with the appropriate evidence, and the problem will be gone. > > *So, what's the big point here? > > *Making your stuff LESS available and restricting its use with genuine > customers is COUNTERPRODUCTIVE. Using the methods listed above, YOU can > control the marketplace in a moral manner without aggrovating your > customers. Some theft will slip through the net, but if you are smart > this will be a very small amount - and it will serve as advertising for > your brand. > _______________________________________________ > Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: > http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev > Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges > -- Co-owner, Animations Rising: http://tinyurl.com/l959f2 Digital art by Miro: http://tinyurl.com/lwtw3q _______________________________________________ Policies and (un)subscribe information available here: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/OpenSource-Dev Please read the policies before posting to keep unmoderated posting privileges
