Government launches anti-piracy plan

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
The government has had enough of ripped off CDs, DVDs and software and has launched a crackdown on the pirates.

Whitehall is putting in place its first "intellectual property crime strategy", designed to make bringing the criminals to justice. The strategy was launched by industry minister Jacqui Smith, saying that the bootleggers are hurting consumers and costing the economy billions in lost revenue.

The strategy will mean the various arms of government involved in stopping the trade in illegal goods will have to work together better and share information faster; training for staff working on the coalface of anticounterfeiting is to be improved and an annual report published to track progress on the issue.

DVD and CD pirating are both on the increase, with FACT (Federation Against Copyright Theft) reporting that piracy cost the UK over £9bn (£4.9bn) in 2002 and the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) saying illegal music lost the industry £56.1m in 2003.

The BPI welcomed the crackdown, saying the increase in pirated music is a big worry for the industry and hurts musicians new to the business rather than their long-established counterparts.

Research from YouGov for BSA (Business Software Alliance) shows that pirated goods are now standard in UK homes. Around half of the nation's 18- to 29-year-olds admit to owning counterfeit products, while 28 percent of 30- to 50-year-olds said they did.

The move to deal with counterfeit goods will also deal with those making fake booze, perfume and clothes and will be led by the Patent Office.

Talkback

Until prices are brought down to a reasonable level piracy is going to remain rampant or hopefully (for the sake of us consumers) increase.

Look at computer games, now a days they cost about £40 each, why would any sane person pay that amount. for most people thats the majority of a days work (a few days work if you take out expenses like mortgage etc.), for kids it represents atleast a few weeks pocket money for each and every game they wish to play.

With this in mind it is no wonder people are willing to spend considerable time and resources into illegally aquiring these games and other items at a cost (in terms of effort) that they feel is reasonable.

Rather than take heed of this and lower prices big businesses seem to prefer to use their favourite route and lobby the government. Long term however, it would be much better for our society if the prices were forced down by the government to a level which is in line with the cost of other goods.

via Facebook 12 August, 2004 13:54
Reply

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

4 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

6 hours ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

6 hours ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

8 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

10 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

11 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

12 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

12 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

13 hours ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

15 hours ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

20 hours ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

23 hours ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

23 hours ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

1 day ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

1 day ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

1 day ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 day ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

1 day ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material
Moley

For Gnome 2 die-hards, it is possible to add icons to the bottom panel (or top top panel, if you prefer) which provide the exact Gnome 2...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
ramwellian

Your comments would seem pretty naive and immature. Your 'solution' appears to be, "gee, let's all just give in to the hackers and give them...

1 day ago by ramwellian on Cloud computing security: no more oxymoron?