Common Sense From The Swiss!!

Switzerland Won’t Criminalize File-Sharing

Unlike the Spanish government, which is going to fight file-sharing, the authorities of Switzerland are planning to protect it. Since the entertainment industry continued pressuring on piracy, the country decided to conduct a study in order to offer a better perspective on how file-sharing affects the situation in the industry.
Now the results of the study have been published, and they lead the experts to an unsatisfying conclusion for the entertainment industry: in fact, it seems that the present anti-piracy legislation is doing its job great and therefore doesn’t need any additions or changes.

The results of the study draw a very interesting parallel between some obsolete devices, like the photocopier, audio cassettes and VCR – as we know, all of the listed items are designed to make copies, – and the worldwide web – a wonder of our century, which pushed things to the entirely different level. The study claims that it was always just the fear of change that has pushed the entertainment industries to go wild about how any new device can destroy jobs and the entire industry.
This is exactly what Swiss government is agree on, indicating in their report that each time a new media technology had been released, it has always been abused by the entertainment industry. However, this is the price the society has to pay for progress. In our world, those who can use the new technology to their benefit will win, while those who missed the development in question and keep following old business models will lose.

In addition, the Swiss government is not alone who pointed at this axiom – findings extrapolated from some Dutch study confirmed that the entertainment industry hasn’t been really losing much money, though it claims billions in damaged. Despite the fact that around a third of Swiss citizens do download pirated entertaining content, including songs, films and games through the Internet, the income of the entertainment industry remains steady, according to the results of the study. Moreover, the Dutch report points out that file-sharers are more likely to visit live performances or purchase a game. And in the music industry, file-sharing is a great advantage for newcomers as a beneficial and free advertisement campaign. In other words, the government’s message to the entertainment industry is clear enough: whether it adapts or not, the country shall not change the current laws.