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Music Piracy Remains a Widespread Problem, Particularly in Emerging CountriesErnesto Van der Sar, 12 Dec 11:56 AM The International Federation of th

Music Piracy Remains a Widespread Problem, Particularly in Emerging Countries Ernesto Van der Sar, 12 Dec 11:56 AM The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) presents itself as the voice of the global recording industry. The group represents roughly 8,000 members globally, ranging from smaller independent labels to the largest labels on the planet. Part of its mandate is to keep an eye on how the music industry evolves. This includes legal consumption as well as unauthorized offerings, more commonly known as music piracy. Music piracy exists in various forms but in recent years stream-ripping has emerged as the most significant. Several years ago IFPI reported that the phenomenon had become a bigger threat than any other form of music piracy. According to IFPI's Engaging with Music 2023 report released this week, online piracy remains a problem worldwide, stream-ripping and illegal music apps in particular. "Music piracy is still very much an issue, with stream ripping and the use of illegal mobile apps among the leading causes for concern," IFPI's Chief Executive Frances Moore says. "This illegal activity has a severe and direct impact on royalties which should be returning to those investing in and creating music. We will continue to work with governments and the wider music industry to ensure the most secure digital environment possible for music creators and fans alike." One in Three Are Music Pirates The report shares the results of an extensive survey, which polled over 43,000 Internet users worldwide. The overall conclusion is that legal consumption is flourishing, but the survey also found that plenty of people are still using stream-rippers and piracy tools. In the countries that formed the basis for these reports historically, almost one in ten people (29%) admit to using illegal means to listen to or download music. With 26%, stream-ripping remains dominant, with unlicensed apps not far behind (20%). Piracy is most prevalent among the younger demographic (16-24), where 43% of respondents are self-confessed pirates. When asked about their reasons for pirating, more than half of all respondents (55%) said that they do it to avoid paying for licensed music streaming subscriptions. Piracy rates have stabilized somewhat over the years but the problem persists. That said, it's not the complete picture. The polled countries for these 'global' statistics exclude India, China, Nigeria, and other emerging countries where piracy is rampant. Piracy is Rampant in Developing Countries IFPI reports the numbers for these countries separately, making it possible to compare global data over time. If they were included, however, global piracy rates would be much higher. In India, for example, 74% of respondents admit to using illegal methods to listen to music. In other emerging countries such as China (75%), Indonesia (66%) and Nigeria (76%), we see similarly high piracy rates. This is an entirely different picture than mostly developed Western countries, which have been part of IFPI's long-term polling sample. A complete overview of the polled countries in the global dataset is available below. Finally, it is worth highlighting a somewhat unusual statistic. While piracy is rampant in countries such as China and India, legal consumption is very high in these countries too. In China, 96% of the respondents say they use licensed audio streaming platforms and in India, 94% do the same. This is much higher than the global average of 73% and suggests that music consumers in emerging countries use a combination of legal and illegal sources to fulfill their music demands. TorrentFreak asked IFPI to explain this combined use of legal and illegal music streaming, zooming in on India. IFPI's Director of Insight & Analysis, David Price, notes that the legal music consumption largely relies on free tiers there. "India has a range of domestic and international audio streaming services, and most of the engagement with these is through the free tier. Take-up of premium streaming is hampered by the continued use of piracy services," Price says. All in all the report offers a valuable snapshot of how the use of various piracy tools and services changes over time. It will be interesting to see how these trends develop in the future. — This article was updated with a comment from Dr. David Price, IFPI's Director of Insight & Analysis, which came in shortly after publication. – The global sample includes respondents from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, UK and USA. – Details on consumers from China, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, and UAE are reported separately. From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Don't Fuel the Copyright Troll Fire, Supreme Court Hears Ernesto Van der Sar, 11 Dec 10:44 PM Over the past several years we've covered dozens of copyright troll cases against tens of thousands of alleged copyright infringers. Our coverage mostly focuses on piracy-related cases, but there are other variants too. Outfits that target blogs and other websites for using photos without permission, for example. The definition of the term 'copyright troll' is fluid. In the file-sharing space it typically refers to parties that accuse large numbers of people of copyright infringement, who are then threatened with legal action and the potential for large damages awards. Targets are encouraged to pay settlements to ensure these legal problems go away. The phenomenon has been ongoing for well over a decade and while the most severe examples have disappeared, the business model remains active today. According to an amicus curiae brief filed at the Supreme Court last week, the problem could get worse. Copyright Troll Warning These cautionary words come from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), the Authors Alliance, the American Library Association, and the Association of Research Libraries. They intervened in the Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy lawsuit, a music copyright case that in itself is unrelated to copyright trolling. The case in question deals with the period during which rightsholders can recover damages for copyright infringement, known as the 'discovery accrual rule'. According to U.S. copyright law, there is a three-year statute of limitations to file complaints. This period starts after a rightsholder 'discovers' the infringement. Courts have been split on whether this three-year limitation also applies to the damages that can be claimed, or if 'damages accrual' can go further back. Don't Feed the Trolls According to the amicus curiae brief, an extended damages accrual period could give more ammunition to copyright trolls. It would allow them to claim that they only just discovered infringements that took place many years ago, allowing them to claim damages beyond three years. "The discovery accrual rule as interpreted by the Eleventh Circuit in this case […] encourages copyright trolling. The ability to recover damages for infringements that occurred an arbitrarily long time ago, as long as litigation is begun within three years of discovery, expands the opportunities to seek nuisance-value settlements against numerous internet users. "The problem of copyright trolling illustrates why the Court should hold that infringement claims accrue when the infringement occurs, with the three-year statute of limitations running from that date," the groups add. Torrents, Photos, and More The filing provides a detailed overview of the copyright trolling landscape. This includes the many lawsuits filed against BitTorrent users, who are targeted for sharing pirated movies. These lawsuits are typically settled or dismissed and rarely go to trial. While this practice is still common today, courts have limited their scope; in some jurisdictions, trolls are no longer welcome. "Many courts have thrown out these suits on procedural grounds (such as improper joinder and lack of personal jurisdiction), and courts have recognized the impropriety of using the judicial process solely to extract quick settlements," the brief notes. In BitTorrent cases, rightsholders have to actively monitor for copyright infringements, so lawsuits are not typically filed after many years have passed. For image-related trolling, the position differs. Reverse image search tools allow photographers and their attorneys to spot content posted a long time ago. They can then go after alleged infringers years later, claiming damages. "These demands frequently concern images posted well over three years earlier. Such postings cause little or no monetary harm to rightsholders, no significant gain for website authors, and would not otherwise be the subject of litigation," the brief reads. Time Limited Damages The amici are concerned that if rightsholders can claim damages for much longer periods, this would only make the trolling problem worse. In a recent blog post, EFF explains its concerns in detail, asking the Supreme Court to mind the trolls. Copyright disputes come in many forms, but EFF stresses that courts should ensure judicial safeguards are in place to prevent abuse. They note that limiting the damage period is key to prevent excessive trolling. "EFF filed its brief in this case to ask the Supreme Court to extend these judicial safeguards, by holding that copyright infringement damages can only be recovered for acts occurring three years before the filing of the complaint. "An indefinite statute of limitations would throw gasoline on the copyright troll fire and risk encouraging new trolls to come out from under the figurative bridge," EFF concludes. — A copy of the full amicus curiae brief, submitted by EFF, the Authors Alliance, the American Library Association, and the Association of Research Libraries, is available here (pdf) From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more. Are you looking for a VPN service? TorrentFreak sponsor NordVPN has some excellent offers. ©2023 TorrentFreak | Office 21338 PO Box 4336 Manchester, North West M61 0BW United Kingdom Web Version   Preferences   Forward   Unsubscribe     Powered by Mad Mimi®A GoDaddy® company