Pirates Can Live on Land Too

There are many different kinds of piracies. The following are the most famous methods to pirate data:

1. Simple piracy – it is when the packaging of the pirated copy is different from the original and is usually a compilation of many different pirated data.
2. Counterfeit – it is when the packaging of the pirated copy resembles the original and the pirates try their utmost effort to be as close to the original as possible. The companies’ trademarks are reproduced in order to mislead the consumer into believing that they are actually buying an original product.
3. Bootleg – it is an unauthorized recording of live streams or broadcast performances. This is most commonly used in pirating music.
4. Internet Piracy – this method has clearly gone viral everywhere in the virtual world. As long as you have internet access, you could be a consumer of the products made by this method of “pirating.” It is the act of compressing, posting and transmitting globally via the internet copyrighted material without the permission of the rights holders. It can be done through websites, email or through peer-to-peer file transfers. With the influx of netizens, this method would probably be the easiest way to grab a copy of the pirated material.
5. Camcording – it is quite similar with bootleg but this act is done with the use of a lightweight, handheld camera, especially the one that records data in digital form onto a storage device such as a videotape, DVD, or hard disk. So basically, one pirates a movie or a video by taking a video of the video being played, more like an inception of videos or rather a video within a video.
6. Signal or Cable Theft – it is the act of obtaining unauthorized access to cable television services. Here in the Philippines, it is more commonly known as the “jumper” wherein you connect another wire to the original cable wire to somewhat have an extension and let two televisions benefit from the single cable line.

But these merely represent the whole chain of startling methods to pirate data. There are a lot of ways other than the stated to “steal” whatever is not under your rights and use them for your own commercial gain.

That is exactly just how I would define piracy, an act of stealing and robbery or an unauthorized use of copyrighted material to benefit you and gain from it.

Here in the Philippines, piracy is very rampant and is somehow accepted by the public, mainly because it is more practical to buy the same content for a much cheaper price. There are even places known to everyone as the “domicile of pirated materials” such as the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan, Metrowalk in Ortigas and Divisoria in Manila. Although there are these well-known hide-outs where all the pirates gather to sell their pirated products, a person will still be able to find wandering vendors sneakily whispering to their ears the words “DVD sir, ma’am” constantly. Some narrow streets have been populated by illegal vendors as well and even some houses in Manila have pirated discs posted just outside their windows. Generally, piracy is out of control in the country and the citizens don’t pay too much attention on this illegal industry that seems to grow really fast.

With the given motion for a debate that is – Philippines celebrates software piracy as a force for development, I easily made up my mind and decided to write a journal entry about this topic.

Although there are a set of laws that are anti-piracy in the Philippines, it will still be hard to diminish the outbreak of pirated goods. Just as other crimes like sexual abuse and murders are hard to eradicate, it is hardly different when it comes to piracy.

Piracy is not something a lone person could commit. The target market is essential for it to continue and still prevail despite the actions done by the government to eliminate this rising problem. The family of pirates is not only made up of the people who intentionally do the act of pirating or stealing but also consists of those who patronize their work. Their consumers greatly affect their determination to use piracy as a means to earn a living and develop economically.

Personally, I don’t think Philippines celebrates software piracy as a force for development for that would mean that the government would permit the noncompliant citizens and their fascination with piracy. Looking at the situation in a realistic way, there will never be a humane way to completely do away with this illegal industry. Somehow it finds its way to persist in the market even though the government pays attention to the crisis.

Considering that my family and I are constant consumers of pirated goods such as music discs and digital video discs, I would rather keep the industry and benefit from it even though it is definitely not ethical for those companies we are stealing from. But eventually, if this grows more as a problem in our country that it causes the companies to close down, then maybe it will be better if piracy just goes to the past and be totally banned in the country; because what is there to pirate if there aren’t even original materials to steal?

All in all, I don’t really believe that our country celebrates software piracy as a force for development because we can barely see any development resulting from it. There are only mishaps and more criminals caught from piracy.

It is piracy, not overt online music stores, which is our main competitor. (Steve Jobs, 2010)

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