Why is there simply not a mass elimination of torrent sites on the par

[evilneko]

And just how do you take down a torrent site anyway?

 

A certain famous one, which I will not name but you will figure out easily from the context, thumbed its nose at every legal threat it ever got and then went on to survive its creators actually being hauled into court, tried and convicted. The site itself is still operational.

 

Personally I think going after torrent users and sites is a waste of time and counterproductive. Even the biggest torrent site is still, by comparison, a very small fish. The problem needs to be stopped at the source, and torrent sites and their users are very, very far removed from that source.

[marharth]

If corporations thought they were really a big deal it would be a issue, but they are smart enough to notice that certain people would never buy the game.

 

Not to mention that the US law isn't international -.-

 

Most torrent sites are hosted in different countries without strict copyright laws, so its not illegal.

[ub3rman123]

Besides, trying to stop piracy is a major damager of your public image, especially if you go after the wrong people. Remember the stink about Lars Ulrich?

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Regardless, I think many companies, especially the big ones, can live with the bit that shared files skims off the top on even the so called illegal stuff. Let's talk Hollywood. How much would they have to add onto a ticket sale so that the movie still makes its 300percent profit (!!!) or whatever at the box office? At that point, realistically, who cares what relatively small losses they incur when the dvd comes out? I really don't think that even they care too much.

 

 

[JimboUK]

The internet is global, law enforcement isn't. The best way to shut these sites down is to go after the people who run them, they tend to stay in one jurisdiction.

 

I may be in error ...but are not Torrent Sites engaged in software piracy?

 

Yes and no, there is no pirate software on them. The tracker helps PCs connect to each other to swap data, none of that data goes through the site.

[bben46]

Although most of the activity on torrents sites is stealing (piracy) they do have legitimate uses.

 

A lot of the problem is public perception. They see software theft as a kiddie activity and not as a 'real' crime. If enough copies of a game are stolen through piracy, the game maker will stop bothering to make games and go to something where they can earn more for their investment. Several already have. Programmers have to eat and support families too.

 

One of my favorite dumb excuses for stealing games is "It wasn't worth the cost, so I stole it." If it's not worth what is being asked, then how can it be worth stealing? They didn't steal it because it cost too much, they stole it because they were too cheap (greedy) to pay. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/charonn0/ohgeez-1.gif

 

And then when they stop making games because they can no longer pay their programmers, the thieves will whine because the game makers are greedy - While the real greedy ones are the thieves who are too cheap to pay for the work of others. So when your favorite game maker shuts down - you can thank the pirates.

[SpellAndShield]

Although most of the activity on torrents sites is stealing (piracy) they do have legitimate uses.

 

A lot of the problem is public perception. They see software theft as a kiddie activity and not as a 'real' crime. If enough copies of a game are stolen through piracy, the game maker will stop bothering to make games and go to something where they can earn more for their investment. Several already have. Programmers have to eat and support families too.

 

One of my favorite dumb excuses for stealing games is "It wasn't worth the cost, so I stole it." If it's not worth what is being asked, then how can it be worth stealing? They didn't steal it because it cost too much, they stole it because they were too cheap (greedy) to pay. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f351/charonn0/ohgeez-1.gif

 

And then when they stop making games because they can no longer pay their programmers, the thieves will whine because the game makers are greedy - While the real greedy ones are the thieves who are too cheap to pay for the work of others. So when your favorite game maker shuts down - you can thank the pirates.

 

So why isn't there international cooperation between authorites to clamp down on it? You know, coordinated activities and such.

[Nadimos]

It may be mostly so on our screen of perception, but not everything with torrent has to do with pirated material. There are also very official, how should i say, uses. Companies use it, NGO's , Movieprojects or if you have a really big demo for a game, then it might be you indeed stumble across torrents among other things. Edited February 13, 2011 by Nadimos

[marharth]

Just wondering, can you name a single company that has shut down due to software pirating?

 

Also the topic title was kind of already answered...

 

Software piracy isn't international law for the most part, so some countries allow it meaning that the hosts are completely legal.

[Jiggalopuff]

Torrent sites that host pirated material exist for several reasons:

1.) They are hosted in a country that has no laws against software piracy.

2.) The legal costs of tracking down every person who either distributed, downloaded, or uploaded the website to be more than the loss from piracy.

3.) Torrents themselves have been ruled by the Supreme court to have substantial legal use. Hence banning the protocol itself is not an option

4.) Aggressive legal action, at least in the case of the music industry, has left a bad public image, and have been accused of prosecuting their fans.

The internet is global, law enforcement isn't.

Have you ever heard of Interpol, G20, The United Nations, the Geneva convention? Julian Assange, whom American judges are seeking an extradition to the US, might disagree with you.

It may be mostly so on our screen of perception, but not everything with torrent has to do with pirated material. There are also very official, how should i say, uses. Companies use it, NGO's , Movieprojects or if you have a really big demo for a game, then it might be you indeed stumble across torrents among other things.

The torrent protocol itself has been ruled by the Supreme Court to have substantial legal use.

 

Just wondering, can you name a single company that has shut down due to software pirating?

First of all, that is a bit of a difficult question, because there is no way to tell if piracy or poor sales has lead to the companie's demise(I.E. would everyone that had pirated the game have legally purchased it had they the choice?) Secondly, piracy generally affects smaller companies more profoundly than it does larger ones. For Behemoths such as Microsoft, piracy is actually beneficial: for every illegal copy of Windows in existence, there is one person who isn't using their competitor's OS.