SOPA causes protest.

The SOPA or the Stop Online Piracy Act was introduced by Representative Lamar Smith of Texas to expand the authority of the US Law enforcement to fight online trafficking of copyrighted intellectual and counterfeit goods.  This bill would allow an enforcement and shutdown of a site without a trial or traditional court hearing. (Huffingtonpose.com 2012)  Now this might be great news for a site that is known for violating copyrighted and intellectual properties.  But what about a site where it could be proven that a violation did not occur?  This could be too much power to soon without a fair trial or both sides being heard.

An example of the Bill was the shutdown of Megaupload.com who was charged with violating copyright laws, conspiracy to commit racketeering, conspiracy to commit money laundering and criminal copyright infringement. (Megaupload.com 2012)  Now the users of Megaupload.com who were using the site for legitimate purposes were affected and went to Twitter to demand their content back. (Eweek.com 2012)

Many Hollywood studios along with Record companies supported the bill, which would have allowed them to receive a court order and have the violator of a supposed copyright infringement to shut down their site.  Also this would have caused the enforcement of cutting off payment processing of sites or removal of paid advertisers and more. 

Now as a movie producer I would support the remove of pirated or wrongful use of copyrighted material since this ultimately creates loss of revenue.  But as a person who practices free speech then what would be considered unlawful use of copyrighted material?  If I took a movie that I purchased and uploaded to my site without the expressed written authorization of the copyright holder then this would be in direct violation of the rights that they are granted.  But what happens if I disagreed with a particular viewpoint of a governmental party or was using my site to express my viewpoints, could this be considered under the bill as a particular type of infringement? 

Would the SOPA or PIPA Act cut off the voice of free speech or just goes after copyright and counterfeiters as they stated they would do.  So lets take this conversation a bit further, supposed someone had footage of a cover up or corruption scandal and wanted to post on a website and bring forth the truth under the right of free speech?  So if the information would be devastating depending on whose image is at stake would this be potentially an infringement under classified information or some future made up category or an expression of free speech?

It seems that in the name of security we begin to trade security in exchange for our freedoms and I believe that is why the potential Act was opposed.  Only time will tell as to the extent of the new Internet police frontier or a scraping and stripping of our First Amendment Rights.

Reference:

Eweek.com 2012 IT Security & Network Security News retrieved on January 22, 2012 from http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/SOPA-PIPA-Online-Piracy-Lead-Weeks-Security-News-651755/

Huffingtonpost.com 2012 What is SOPA? Anti-Piracy Bill Explained retrieved on January 22, 2012 from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/19/what-is-sopa_n_1216725.html

Megaupload.com 2012 Megaupload retrieved on January 22, 2012 from       http://www.megaupload.com/

Where is online independent film distribution headed?

In the past several years we have seen the explosion of independent film producers within the market place.  These produces can shoot produce and distribute their creative content and work for pennies on the dollar.  The main difference for independent producers and Hollywood producers is the audience that they reach.  Hollywood producers will have more resources to film crews, A-list actors, top sound engineers and more.  The independent producer has the ability to be creative and produce what they like lack the resources of Hollywood producers but will be able to compete on all levels.  So in retrospect when you compare the two they both will have a finished product but the audience is what separates them.

Independent producers have grown with the help of the Internet, film festivals; The Sundance Channel and Independent Film Channel just to name a few.  This is a picture clearly of David vs. Goliath only in the sense of resources and audiences but in the area of creativity independent producers has the upper hand in communicating their message without board approval.

A new platform that is presented is The Watchbox, (thewatchbox.com 2011) which is a new VoD platform or video on demand that allows content creators to upload projects, footage or extras and set their own rental price. (Screendaily.com 2011)  This is a unique direction for film producers but for the viewers who are used to watching Netflix and paying only $9.00 per month to view as many movies that are available.  But if you are a true fan of independent films then paying $.99 to $4.99 to view creative content is a great deal. 

My only concern for the independent producers is that other platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, which have more content to view, can create a medium for independent filmmakers and charge for viewing and create revenue sharing opportunities.   I believe a platform should be created where fans of independent films should have a plan package where for one price we can view a certain amount of films, which will create revenue for various films and gives viewers the option of selecting various films.

Reference:

Screendaily.com 2012 Sundance host unveiling of two online services retrieved on January 22, 2012 from http://www.screendaily.com/news/distribution/sundance-hosts-unveiling-of-two-online-services/5036779.article

Thewatchbox.com 2012 The Watchbox retrieved on January 22, 2012 from https://www.thewatchbox.com/about-us