Video Piracy

[mrrellim]

My 12 y/o daughter just came back from a month long church history vacation with her grandparents.

One of things she told us about was the movie she saw in Salt Lake called "Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration."

I did a search to see if it was available for purchase yet but did not see it listed on the Distribution Centers Website. I then did another search and found it available over the bit torrent network (not a cam'ed copy but a dvd quality copy).

Now, my wife and daughter are saying that downloading a church video is even worse than downloading a Hollywood movie, any thoughts?

Mitch

[Palerider]

Its not available yet......

[tubaloth]

I would be shocked if that was the real video you are looking for. There is another video very much like it (that has most of the same actors).

But to your questions. Piracy is piracy no matter who made the video. Would it be okay to still movies Satan made? If the situation is bad, just because the church owns the rights doesn't make it any worst!

[mrrellim]

The video is for sure "Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration" based on the fact the my daughter says it is the video she saw in SLC and that in the start of the video as a steam boat is going down the Mississippi the title says "Joseph Smith the Prophet of the Restoration"

I know piracy is deal with the using copyrighted materials in a manner that the copyright holder did not approve. And for Hollywood movies that deals with a person or persons not paying to see or own a movie. Now, since the Church does not create material to generate a profit but to teach the gospel and Church History and they only sell the movies they create at a price to cover their cost -- does this really constitute piracy?

[Dravin]

I know piracy is deal with the using copyrighted materials in a manner that the copyright holder did not approve. And for Hollywood movies that deals with a person or persons not paying to see or own a movie. Now, since the Church does not create material to generate a profit but to teach the gospel and Church History and they only sell the movies they create at a price to cover their cost -- does this really constitute piracy?

Piracy is a deal when you make a copy of a copyrighted work you don't hold the copyright to (or otherwise have permission to do so). The intent of the copyright holder, beyond them giving you permission to make copies, is irrelevant to whether its piracy. If the Church didn't want the protections stemming from copyright they wouldn't copyright the material or they would otherwise waive said rights (such as they do with songs in the Hymn book being able to be copied for personal and church use IIRC).

So long answer short, "Yes, it really does constitute piracy."

Edited August 3, 2009 by Dravin

[Snow]

On another thread someone is arguing that stealing may be okay because all things ultimately belong to God and so if you think He wants you to have it, it's not really stealing.

Ya gotta love situational ethics.

[moronfan2000]

i dont understnad why it could possibly be any more wrong, stealing is stealing; the law of the country says it's against the law.

[FunkyTown]

Yes. I think it's pretty safe to say that video piracy is theft regardless of the source.

Most people can push it out of their mind because their victims are faceless corporations and this is done in the safety of their own home, so they don't have to think about it.

My take on it is that it's like stealing a candy bar. The company you're stealing it from probably won't notice the candy bar and you will probably get away with it, but it's still theft. Doing it from the Church when the church hasn't officially released it isn't worse, but it does mean that there's a lack of trust in the church's decisions and leadership, saying you know better about whether you need the video or not.