Causes and Prevention of Intellectual Property Theft in the Entertainment Industry

การอ้างอิง/citation

Haartveit, Erlend. (2019). Causes and Prevention of Intellectual Property Theft in the Entertainment Industry. (Independent study, Master of Business Administration). Bangkok: Siam University.

Abstract

The origin of internet piracy sites can be traced back to the early 2000s with the emergence of Napster, an online distribution platform which allowed users to download music for free. While Napster was taken down quickly and due to the popularity of the concept, new sites rose to take its place. With the implementation of peer-to-peer file-sharing technology, downloading became easier and faster, and piracy has to this day become the largest threat to the entirety of the entertainment industry online. The objectives of the documentary study were to assess the prevalence and economic effects of internet piracy, explore its causes, and to find and evaluate anti-piracy measures used by stakeholders. Due to the broadness of areas in which the term internet piracy is used, the study focused on key industries of entertainment, specifically the film, TV series, music, and game industries. This study referenced academic articles from EBSCO Host, published between 2012 and 2018 regarding internet piracy and contemporary news sources for up-to-date and supplementary information.

The conceptual framework presented for the study listed causes of piracy and preventive measures for the entertainment industries: TV shows, movies, music, and games. Causes included are: (1) Unavailable content; (2) Legal content too expensive; (3) Content availability differs between regions; (4) Convenience and low risk of piracy. Preventive measures included: (1) Warnings through ISPs to individuals suspected of copyright infringement; (2) Removal of websites from search engines and censorship; (3) Shutdown of piracy sites and their operators; (4) Detection of recordings in cinemas; (5) Ambient light technology in cinemas; (6) Bitcoin tracking; (7) Licensed streaming sites; (8) Video games; (9) Multiplayer and server-based games. The study estimated the degree of piracy among internet users and its financial impact on the entertainment industry, identified causes of piracy and measures or trends which have slowed its growth, recommended anti-piracy options for management, and described implications for other, affected industries. Recommendations for affected industries included: (1) Indexing piracy sites lower on search engines; (3) Streaming and ad-supported services; (4) Reducing or removing time delay for movie releases between regions; (5) Implement anti-piracy procedures at cinemas; (6) Tracking of digital files; (7) Minimizing game piracy through various methods; (8) Make use of copyright protection on social media.

Keywords: Internet piracy, digital intellectual property, entertainment industry, internet piracy prevention, anti-piracy.

Causes and Prevention of Intellectual Property Theft in the Entertainment Industry

Master of Business Administration (International Program), Siam University, Bangkok, Thailand