You may be acknowledging the existing of other credible opinions while wishing that a straw-man copyright abolitionist had been on the show to be demolished, but I am hoping that is not the case and you would prefer the rational debate which is widely available.

John Gordon writes “That’s not the fault of infringement - that’s how the film industry has chosen to structure itself.” Any actor will tell you that when they were starting their career and even in mid-stage of their career, their residuals were literally the thing that kept them alive, especially if they have a bad run at finding a new acting job. Whenever I hear someone dismiss all of the lesser known people who are effected by piracy, I realize that we as an industry do not talk enough about those people. We as a country are supported and respected around the world on the backs of thousands of creative and technical people through the creative industries, but those jobs are seriously in jeopardy every time someone decides they would like to steal a piece of copyrighted property just because they can.

Nick writes “They would find that they (indie film producers) make huge sacrifices for their art with no expectations other than to make art.” I have worked with more than my share of indie film producers and I can assure you that ALL of them hope to make money from their art. How could they survive as a film maker if they didn’t make any money? Further, a lot of those indie films get funded by producers of non-indie films and if those producers don’t make money from their larger commercial ventures….those indie films don’t get made. Maybe the reason the quality of film making is going down (as several have asserted) is that indie film producers can’t get the funding they need to produce their art and survive at the same time because piracy has made that dream impossible.

Fat Sean Says “Fair Use? What ever happened to Fair Use?”. I can assure you that Fair Use is in full use right now but what constitutes a fair use under US Copyright Law is not a distribution of any film that anyone wants to obtain for free via the Internet.

As an independent, I too have my share of frustration with the corporate side of the film industry. However, to say that because you don’t like these people or hate the films they are making that this somehow gives you the right to make your own free copy of their protected works is so far from being reasonable. We have copyright laws to protect those in the creative arts so that they can make a living from their art. The problem is people can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea that stealing intellectual property is exactly the same as stealing physical property. Yes, there will always be shop lifters and thieves of every kind, but I wish the general public would be more aware of the damage that is being done by piracy to average hard working Americans like myself who just happen to use creativity as their skill to make a living.

And when studios cut back production that’s less opportunities for a up and coming actor as myself. Even as a indie movie producer I’ve been faced with people illegally downloading material that hurts our whole business. Look less money means less ablity to hire more people! You can say what you want to make yourself feel good about illegaly downloading material the fact remains money lost means no money to do more!

Tye Banks

Look at the failure of the war on drugs. This is the inevitable end of copyright we are seeing. Fair Use? What ever happened to Fair Use? Industry seeking to make the most money possible already gives us 90% garbage…and their DRM scams make using that content even more difficult and annoying.

Buy all the anti-citizen laws you want, you will lose. You can’t stop private persons getting together in their homes to trade content. You can push it off of the internet, but you’ll never ever stop it.

I too would have liked them to interview some indie film producers. They would find that they make huge sacrifices for their art with no expectations other than to make art. It would show the vast difference between true artists and the corporate capitalist maximalist hell bent on increased shareholder value over civil liberties.

I am surprised 60 Min mentioned the Wolverine leak that happened form the inside. It makes the case for strip searches (yes I exaggerate here) at the theaters and arresting camcording theater patrons redundant and ineffective.

I agree, piracy is not a sport, it is a futile game of cat and mouse that your lobby will never win.

That’s not the fault of infringement - that’s how the film industry has chosen to structure itself. No matter how much you condemn so-called pirates, you can’t blame them for the fact that Hollywood’s revenues, which hit a record high this year, go disproportionately to the people at the top.