Piracy: more than 20 thousand illegal film and series distribution sites were blocked by the MPA

Behind the scenes, the pirate market generates billions of dollars while preventing tax collection and reducing company sales.

According to the Motion Picture Association of the United States (MPA), more than 20 piracy websites have been blocked worldwide. Such domains are aimed at the illegal distribution of films and series, whether through permission to download or stream the content.

There are 75 thousand offline domains, with different addresses, but which take users to the same website. The number in question is a major step forward in the fight against piracy, considering that the illegal copying and dissemination of films occurs, above all, through streaming service websites and apps.

It is estimated that the loss of piracy is US$30 billion to the North American economy. On the other hand, the illegal market generates around US$280,5 billion in series and US$285,7 billion in films.

Of this total, the MPA accuses that 85% of the amount is kept by fraudsters and the rest is invested in publicity. Therefore, the MPA's action has been to shut down websites and social networks, preventing consumers from gaining free access to pirated material. But, what are the impacts of piracy on our society?

Could piracy be beneficial in any way?

The term 'piracy' has been used since the XNUMXth century to equate the copying of a product with the act of violently robbing ships. However, is piracy so bad for those who have the original idea or can it be beneficial in some way?

Well, let's think about the following, suppose you go to March 25th and buy a counterfeit Lacoste t-shirt. After a few washes, your t-shirt shrinks to the point where you can no longer wear it. What are the chances that you will get the impression that Lacoste is not a credible, quality brand?

This way, the original brand ends up losing a potential customer, don’t you agree? But, we know that piracy does not always result in dissatisfaction. For example, a copied book can serve as a sample and lead the consumer to purchase the original product, which they might not buy if they had to pay the full price from the start.

Paulo Coelho and 'self-piracy'

We don't need much to understand the aforementioned idea. In the end, Paulo Coelho, a Brazilian writer, is a defender of piracy of his works. It is no surprise that your blog contains several links that lead to free downloads of his books. And do you know why?

In 1999, when Russia began publishing Paulo Coelho's books, the country was going through a paper crisis, which meant that the circulation of the Alchemist was small.

Therefore, upon finding a digital edition in Russian of his book circulating, the author promptly shared it, which boosted sales as printing normalized. In 2002 alone, more than 1 million copies sold and, in 2011, more than 10 million Russian copies sold.

We realize that depending on the situation, pirated copies in circulation can be interesting, especially when the author of the creation benefits in some way.

However, note that, in the case in question, the publication of the pirated product was even made by the writer. The biggest problem is when the owner does not authorize this action, which occurs in 99,9% of cases.

Why is piracy so bad?

We know that piracy is a crime, but few know what risks it can generate in society. First, categorized as the copying, sale or reproduction of content without authorization from the owners, piracy prevents tax collection.

In fact, the losses are billions, just understand that the illegal market surpassed the R$280 billion mark in 2020 in Brazil.

Furthermore, when purchasing a pirated product, not all consumers are aware that it is not original. Therefore, negative experiences with copies can cause buyer dissatisfaction, who are very likely to blame the brand for the low quality of the products. As a result, official brands and companies also lose, as they are losing buyers.

Another factor that corroborates the criminalization of piracy concerns the lack and quality of products, which can be a risk to the health of consumers. 

For example, in addition to pirated medicines often being produced with substances banned by Anvisa, counterfeit sunglasses can compromise consumers' eye health, even causing retinal detachment. That's right, the matter is more serious than we imagine.

In this way, exposing consumers to pirated products can be an attack on quality of life, so the phrase: what's cheap is expensive has never been so true. In other words, although in some cases pirated products can promote the original, in most cases, the impacts of piracy are much more than moral.