Confessions of an IP pirate

Going over all the digital copyright laws in multiple classes these past few weeks hasn’t created any startling realizations for me.  I first downloaded the game Quake back in 96 on my dial up modem.  Since then I have been downloading software off and on throughout the years.  I knew it was wrong and illegal, but I still continued to do it, justifying it by saying, I am only downloading what I would never have bought to start with.

I kept up with that mentality over the years, especially when it came to software that was in the thousand dollar plus range, like 3D Studio Max.  I could never afford that software nor could I have access to it anywhere around me.  I never created anything with the software that was sold or used by anyone other then myself for learning the program.

I installed a mod chip in my PlayStation so I could play the burned games my roommates in college had.  I chalked this up to the same as borrowing a game from some one.  No money lost to the publishers as I wasn’t going to pay for the title anyway.  When I modded my Xbox and realized that I was no longer buying games, I figured out that out when I was no longer finishing the games I had.  I would have the attention span of about 2 weeks and then move onto something else.  I vowed to no longer mod my consoles to ensure that I finish games.  That didn’t work out, I still have a 2 week attention span, but more cause I don’t have the time to invest.  I did find though that without modding my Xbox 360, I am buying more games, but I’m also buying them at reduced prices.

That carried over to my PC gaming habits also.  I stopped downloading pirated games so I would have more time to focus on other things.  I found that my PC game purchases didn’t change though.  I still bought about 1 every 2 months and still do to this day.  What did change was my thoughts on pirating windows.  I got sick of dealing with all the problems having a cracked copy created and decided it was the one piece of software I use MOST and is worth the purchase.

There has been one major change that I still haven’t “corrected”, Pirated music.  I still download MP3s left and right.  And yet I still buy the same amount of music on CD, about 3 a month.  What did change was an increase in concert ticket sales for me.  I tend to buy tickets to see the band in person now instead of spending the $10 on a CD, I spend $40 on a ticket to see them live.

What has never been an issue for me is movies.  I buy DVDs left and right as I prefer the extra features and the multiple soundtracks that you just can’t get with downloaded movies.  I will grab a movie if it is in the in between state, like Star Trek right now, no longer in theaters and not yet on DVD.