We’ve argued for quite a long time that treating “pirates” like criminals instead of potential customers is a massive mistake for a whole host of reasons. There’s the futility of the legal game, for instance, as well as the possible public relations nightmare that going after the public, even the infringing public, can create. But the best reason to not treat infringers like criminals is because they’re often the best actual customers of content out there as well. In study after study, it’s shown that a person who engages in some infringement spends more total money on movies, music, and video games than someone who gets everything legit. Pirates, scurvy-laden bastards as they may be, happen to be the creative industries’ best customers.
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