[citation][nom]noodlegts[/nom][citation]BUT! Just like all other pirating, I highly doubt this would have any ill effects on the sales of his movie. If people want it they will still go buy it.[/citation]I hate when people say this. It's not true at all. Do you think thieves who steal things then return to the store and pay for them? If people want it, and they can get it for free, they will take it for free.Angels and airwaves released an album online for free where you had a choice to pay or not pay. Nobody paid... Coldplay did the same thing and they got an average of like $0.02 per CD. If people can get something for free they will take it. Piracy is a crime!It's especially bad when it happens to small movie makers, but pirating a low budget film is the same crime as pirating Avatar.[/citation]
I think in the situation this guy is getting free advertising which cleary he could not afford seeing as 15k busts him. I certainly do think pirating is theft, it is the same as stealing the DVD from a store... .yet i have 1000+ movies pirated and some 200 gigs of music (35,000 songs).
At the end of the day, no one would have known this guy made a DVD, now he is getting FREE edvertising. I honestly believe this advertising will in fact gain him more profit then if the movie hadnt been stolen in the first place.
Exhibit A - make a movie that no one knows about make X $.
Exhibit B - make a movie, get mega free advertising and many thefts = sales.
REMEMBER: not everyone knows how to torrent and many people are against it! now those people can go buy the movie because they now know it exists thanks to Mr.Pirate