If I copy a DVD/CD that I would never buy, did someone lose money ?

If I copy a music CD that I would never buy, did someone lose money ?

I woud say No.

Why ?

Because there is a natural  limit to consumer level copying and sharing:

Get realistic and stop this simple minded baby type of naive accounting:

Naive calculations:

Not every copy I make is revenue foregone (money lost to the Publisher). Many DVD's I'd never ever bother watching unless I get a copy from a friend. If I like the movie/song/book I'll promote it and other people who are not close enough to me to qualify for 'freebies from a friend' will go out and buy it.

Work colleagues, don't ask me for freebies and I don't offer them. It would cross the unspoken boundary. That is where sharing stops, they are not close enough.

Sharing is a sign of trust between friendship groups.  

Most of the movies I personally see, I have a 'take it or leave it' attitude.

Most of them if they are free AND if I have time, I might watch them. If I really want a movie, I'll watch it in a cinema, go out and buy the physical DVD, and add it to me golden core collection.

The non core collection depends on what friends share with me.

People like to share things. If I buy a book I can lend it to a friend.

If my friend sees the book on my shelf and wants to read it should I say:

"Sorry, the book publishers want to make more money, they make me feel guilty about breaking copyright, I have to ask you to buy your own copy".

" -excuse me ?"

One friend lost.

Sharing has a realistic limit. I don't share my DVD's of CD's of books with 100's of peole, not even 10. Just a few I trust.

The people I share with would not go out and buy the book, CD, DVD, they will only read or watch it if it is free, if it is a gift of trust of our friendship.

As the recent BBC News article: Hollywood battling 'DVD copying'

says: people are already copying DVD's and CD's like crazy,and the industry is still selling DVD/CD's.

The Big Media companies want to divide us into individuals, as far as media like songs and movies goes, it would be more realistic and more human to see people as friendship groups. 

About  the Digital Rights Management (DRM) I have only one reply: The Analogue hole.

That will always be there. All the DRM  is just sound and fury. 

And a note to the big movie Corp's: 10% tithe of the fields: be generous, give away something for free, don't try to scrape out the last drop, accept a dull roar, be happy with what you are making.

Don't go and make into a moral crusade what is really just "we want more $$$$'s for our shareholders".

Don't dress it up all morally.

Be a little generous,  you've enjoyed great profits in the past, you've had the consumers by the short and curlys doling out small incremental bits of 'entertainment' of the people YOU decided to make BIG and famous.

Get real, get with it.

In the internet modern world, you have to GIVE something real, give free email, free, software etc... get people on-side before they accept you.

The grumpy moral, high handed image of big Corporations crying because they think they missed out on the money when I gave a copy to my good friend, is an ugly image.

They actually didn't even miss out, because my friend would never  have paid for the copy I gave her, the copy was an exchange gift, a token of friendship.

What the big Corp's are missing out on is: the good will of the public.

.

Only they can decide if good will or money is more important to them ?

Who's got the bigger erhummm.....  ?

I guess if I was a big executive on a mega salary, competing with my fellow big exe's, for who's got the bigger salary ? I wouldn't really care.

I might go for the money.

I'd like to think I would care more about the commong good, but I'm not sure, I'd have to try being a big exec on a mega salary first... he he he :-)

NB: Clarification: All the above is aimed at personal copying. I'm not talking about buying a factory and making thousands of copies, lets use common sense. ...although... hang on.... on seconds thoughts... - just kidding... :-)