That's my question after stumbling across a link to [http://news.com.com/Study+Most+dont+see+downloading+movies+as+very+serious/2100-1025_3-6153472.html|a January 25, 2007 article] from CNetNews.Com that reports:
Most Americans know where to draw the line when it comes to leaving a store without paying for a DVD, but downloading copyright movies is a different matter, according to a study released Thursday.In a survey of 2,600 Americans via the Internet and in telephone interviews, Digital Life America found 78 percent considered taking a DVD from a store without paying as a "very serious offense." Contrast that with the 40 percent who said they believe it is a "very serious offense" to download copyright movies off the Internet without paying for them, the study found.
To top this off, Cinematical.Com has [http://www.cinematical.com/2006/12/13/new-study-shows-extremely-low-percentage-of-movie-downloading/|a post from December 13, 2006] that reports:
A new study performed by ABI research has ripped another hole in the already-weak rampant claims of unstoppable movie piracy and the struggling film business. According to the study, which polled 1,725 North American online consumers 18+, only 5% watched legal digital movie downloads, and even less watch illegal downloads, making it "the least watched genre of online video on the Internet." The majority of respondents say they watch short-form content like news, sports and viral media. Why are they ignoring digitally-acquired films and illegal downloads? Because "they were satisfied with their current providers and the rental market."
So, if most folks don't view breaking a particular law as being that big of a deal (and there is evidence that suggests the law isn't even being broken that often), doesn't that mean the law should be repealed?
I'm trying to think of other laws that are generally ignored by people but are still on the books. Sodomy laws are the only ones coming to mind.
So, the issue of bootlegging aside, what should happen to a law when most people don't think it should be enforced (or that it should be enforced only in extreme situations)?
And I won't even go into the fact that [http://imdb.com/news/sb/2006-11-08#film4|an Australian study] found evidence that suggested:
A confidential study for the Australian government has concluded that industry statistics concerning financial loss due to piracy are "unverified and epistemologically unreliable."Hell, how do you measure potential revenues for a product as amorphous as intellectual property? .
Orignal From: IF A LAW IS BROKEN IN THE WOODS AND NO ONE CARES...
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