[Lord Nikon]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Well there are those of us who would rather own a hard paper copy of a book so downloading one is not something I would choose to do mainly for the fact I invariably take my books into the bathroom to read while I soak.Not going to do that with an electronic reader and I prefer the smell of an old book to one of heated plastic.

I agree with the sentiment there, a real book does feel better,

As to music well some classic albums of the past were about the artwork that accompanied the vinyl,tape,CD. Frankly the fun has gone out of collecting a music library because of the simpler cheaper graphics and most will download not caring about such things ..Maybe a legit copy of the music with some good artwork with a correct limited edition number might be one way to get people legally buying again.

I feel the publicity about the sony rootkits on their music CDs and the high cost of an album during it's distribution life is also a contributory factor. If the CDs were more affordable more people would buy them.

However as I intend never to find myself in any court of law I dutifully buy all my music,software from reputed sites or shops thus making sure I won't face prosecution for copyright theft.I also do not share my music collection/software with anyone else online(and I learned a long time ago never to lend my hard copies of my music collection to ANYONE).

Small point about that statement, and it's something that is definitely misrepresented online. you CAN NOT STEAL A COPYRIGHT, you can INFRINGE it, ie obtain or distribute without permission, but theft of a copyright is pretty much impossible. If you have copyright on a document and I photocopy it, I have infringed your copyright but I have not stolen it as you still retain your copy.

Yes I listen to music from certain sites before I decide whether to purchase but it's perfectly legal to listen provided I don't download it illegally.

Those who refuse to buy legally are thieves.They deny the artists their rightful earnings on the product and the less money arrives in the pockets of a struggling band preventing them from rightfully earning a wage for the job they do.Just because the end product is ephemeral and fleeting makes it no less theft even if the law doesn't view it as such.The fact that it is against a law still makes it an illegal act.

So only those who do actually break this law need worry..as long as you have the hard copies and receipts.

And all the above is just as applicable to films and photographs.

So I hope that the potential loss of privacy will be balanced by the prosecution levels of those caught committing this crime.

It is unenforceable. The more they try to legislate the more people will work out how to circumvent the checks. encryption, multipart multitiered encrypted rar files with padding files to hide MD5s, the encryption would stuff SPI, there are ways round every type of tracking. What the music and film industry needs to do is turn their thinking upside down. At this moment they are thinking 'what can we do to stop this' instead of 'what can we do to embrace this new chance at reaching a wider audience' and 'why do people copy our works, what can we do to encourage sales without making ourselves look like bad guys'