Why All Filmmakers Should Speak Out Against SOPA | Ross Pruden's 6 Reasons on Techdirt

There are many reasons why SOPA and other legislation like it should never be passed, e.g., it fundamentally changes how the internet functions, but here are just two things that should get you thinking:

1. In 1999, I was vehemently against media piracy. It was wrong, I felt, to "rip off" artists without their permission.
2. In 2011, I can say with absolute conviction that I was the one who was flat out wrong.

I've worked in the film industry for two decades as a screenwriter, director, assistant director, script supervisor, production assistant... I've seen a lot of change in the film industry in the last decade and realized at some point that I was witnessing a transition arising from the internet; the same transition that happened to the music industry in the 90s. For many of us in the music and movie industries, media piracy was a looming threat on the horizon, a planet killer whose orbit circled ever closer.

via techdirt.com

Here are Ross' bullet points - You'll want to read the full post to get the deets:

1. SOPA won't even affect its target group.

2. The net sees censorship as damage and reroutes.

3. You can't miss a future you don't yet know.

4. Piracy is a symptom of a new technology. You can't stop piracy any more than you can stop spam.

5. "Piracy is a service issue, not a technology issue."

6. On the road to innovation, you remove roadblocks -- not add more.

Read Ross' full post here - well worth it:

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20111111/12040916725/why-all-filmmakers-shou...

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