Is online piracy a really serious problem? My opinion: nope.

[frazzled]

97. I completely agree with you

But try getting anyone here to see that point of it. A Facebook friend who is a fairly well known artist nationally, posted to this effect yesterday ("Do you, or someone you know hope to make a living as a creator of music, art, movies, whatever? If so, please take a breath and consider that the fuss about SOPA may not be as black and white as it seems. ...), and cited David Pogue's article in the NYT yesterday: http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/19/put-down-the-pitchforks-on-sopa/

Didn't get a good response.

I was shocked the other day (the blackout day!) to see posted on a prominent national blog, a link to a you tube video of a full-length feature by a well-known documentary filmmaker (I'm not giving names here). It was a horribly degraded (awful sound and picture), clearly unauthorized version of a film that has been out of circulation for years, because its maker was unhappy with the color correction, though plans to re-release it on DVD in the future. I was gobsmacked that the blog host saw no problems with linking to this obviously pirated film, without seeing whether the artist sanctioned it. It's not even about money or sales: it's about artists' rights to control the use of their own images.

We have an entire generation that dismisses artists rights. Some really care about their work being copied badly or used in inappropriate ways. Or that they are getting no fees. Some don't care, and think it's a way to generate more interest. But it's the copyright owners who should decide.