Creative Commons - Belgium

[BeMol!- Marcel Vander Mierde <marcel AT bemol.be>]

Op Sunday, May 8, 2005, 8:38:34 PM, BeMol! wrote:

> hello list,

> I'm working on an article about the effects of downloading films (be it 
> 'legal' or 'illegal' copies) on the movie business, ticket sales, income 
> of film makers. I would like to compare the view points and arguments of 
> ABDF and the like (www.houdedief.be) with that of theatre owners, film 
> makers, journalists, copyright/left scholars & activists.

> some questions to ask: is there a problem, yes or no, why & what's 
> people's solutions if there is one? what do figures say? what about the 
> role of the dvd sales?
The problem will be the same as with music:
copyright and other remunerations.

So if the filming-industry is making the same mistake as the
music-industry (and all points in that direction), illegal downloading
will become a major problem.
Interpreting the signals from the States, the problem will become at
least as huge as with music: a commercial film nowadays is much more
expensive.

OK, a film might take some more time to download, but in fact it still
is the same principle: little laser-burned holes on a polycarbonte
disk which can be copied and transferred as bits and bytes.

There is no solution to illegal copying or spreading (I have already
seen copys made by handcamera in the cinema - lousy quality).
The only thing that can be done is digital fingerprinting, but that
will only reduce, not eliminate, the problem.

Protecting DVD's also is just a temporary solution. Any protection
can and will be hacked.

> I would like to ask you people if you have any suggestions for this 
> article. are there people you think I should talk to? studies I should 
> look at? other interesting info?  do you know about previous articles 
> about this?

I have no notion of specific documents on films, but lots can be
learned from docs on music downloads.

There is a primordial question to ask:
how does the filming industry thinks to incorporate internetdownloads
in their businessmodel?
Quality, prices, file-formats, protection, ...

People to speak to:
-CEO of the Kinepolis group?
-some major representatives?
-I know there is a Belgium based company selling films by download,
 but I can't remember the name of it. It has been in the press lately.

> thanks for any info,
you're welcome

-- 
greetings,
Marcel Vander Mierde

BeMol! - Belgian Music online!
<http://www.bemol.be/>

Contact
mail: marcel at bemol.be
mobile: 0494 17 85 91