The FAKE issue. A self examination.

#46
MandM...faux pearls, faux diamonds...they aren't "fakes" in the sense of a fake bag. If I made a piece of jewelry and tried to pass it off as an actual Tiffany's ... then it would be a fake. :smile:

I have never downloaded free music or movies...I'm not that big of a music junkie and I just wait to buy my favorite movies on DVD. I hate the idea of people stealing anything...anything at all!

I once stole a pink eraser when I was 5 or 6 years old. My mom found it when we got home and asked where I got it. From the drugstore...and she drove me back and made me return it to the manager and apologize. I've never stolen another item ever, ever, ever.

Unless pens from work count!!! hee hee

But I feel like if I were to buy a "fake" purse, or download "free" music, I'm hurting other innocent people (however indirectly) and that's just wrong.

Edited to add... My husband is very particular about his artwork and won't let me buy anything that isn't signed and numbered. :smile:
 
#47
CastoCreations said:
I once stole a pink eraser when I was 5 or 6 years old. My mom found it when we got home and asked where I got it. From the drugstore...and she drove me back and made me return it to the manager and apologize. I've never stolen another item ever, ever, ever.

But I feel like if I were to buy a "fake" purse, or download "free" music, I'm hurting other innocent people (however indirectly) and that's just wrong.

Edited to add... My husband is very particular about his artwork and won't let me buy anything that isn't signed and numbered. :smile:
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My parents would of shamed the living life out of me too. I once rang the neighbors doorbell & ran & my dad made me go back the next day and apologize.

People think by stealing music downloads, they are only hurting rich companies/people. Music is their business, why should they be denied a profit. But that's a only a fraction of who is being effected. Musicians & writers, who do most of the work are being cheated. They are also stealing from charities. People in the entertainment industry as a whole are very genereous to charities. Probably more than any other industry. They give a percentage of income, so if their income is down, the charities are effected.
So the charities are being robbed too.
 
#51
LOL!! I think that everyone owns something fake....boobs, nose, hair color, tans or even owning something that we are not aware is a "knock off". I think to each his own, short of criminal activity.

I don't think that anything nowadays is original. Movies are being remade because writers can't think of anything original and alot of music nowadays is full of sampling from earlier tunes. It seems like imitation really is the greatest form of flattery.
 
#52
Dyed hair, nose/boob job are fake. But unless you stole that bottle of hair dye, its legal. And you paid for the rights to use/ have that product.
Ripping off someone's copyright or intellectual property, whether its Hermes, LV, Picasso, or Sony Entertainment is stealing. They are 2 different situations.
 
#53
For me, it's not that I just don't like fake bags.....I sort of don't like "fake" anything.

If I don't have the money to buy something, I do not buy a "fake" one of it instead. I just don't buy it at all.

I don't really download music either. I don't have an Ipod. My dh does, however, and he is forever asking me to buy him those I-tunes music cards, so I think he is doing it legit.

I don't know, I just don't like fake stuff. I feel like, if you want something, save your money for it....don't buy a fake just to have something that "looks" like the item that you really want. It's just not going to come close in quality and after all....that's what we really spend our money on...quality. JMHO.
 
#56
NVMyLV said:
I don't think that anything nowadays is original. Movies are being remade because writers can't think of anything original and alot of music nowadays is full of sampling from earlier tunes. It seems like imitation really is the greatest form of flattery.
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You've just put your finger on the concept of postmodern pastiche... ;) Although then the question becomes, at what point does a piece of cultural production that's made from a patchwork of existing parts become an original thing of its own? Is a song that samples another song original or fake? What about a film adaptation of a book? Just some stuff to think about.

I think this is such an interesting discussion, because the concept of "fake" vs "real" is so much more blurred with some things than others, and cultural perceptions have a huge influence. In terms of designer handbags and furniture, it's pretty clear cut, but in terms of music, and films, and books, it's not so much...
 
#57
Does anyone remember this newstory?

November 2, 2005
MPAA sues grandfather for $600,000 over 4 illegal movie downloads
movies

Fred Lawrence, 67, of Racine, Wisconsin didn’t download the four movies, but admits that his 12-year-old grandson did. In April the MPAA contacted him and offered to settle for the illegal download for $1,000 per movie. Lawrence refused to pay the $4,000 and the MPAA brought out the big guns and sued for $600,000.

ABC News:


Lawrence said his grandson, who was then 12, downloaded “The Incredibles,” “I, Robot,” “The Grudge,” and “The Forgotten” in December, without knowing it was illegal to do so.

The Racine man said his grandson downloaded the movies out of curiosity, and deleted the computer files immediately. The family already owned three of the four titles on DVD, he said.

We saw these lawsuits happen with music and it ultimately spawned a lot of legitimate movie services. Legitimate services for movies exist like Movielink and CinemaNow, but so far no unlimited rental movie services online.

Let’s not forget that only 1 year, one freaking year, in the last 15 years box office sales have not increased. Over that time VHS, followed by DVD have made the MPAA bucketloads of money. The MPAA needs to figure out the online market and maybe Steve Jobs and Apple can help show them how.

What this 12 year old did was wrong, but sueing grandparents for absurd sums of money isn’t the answer. Wasn’t the solution with music, nor will it be with movies.
 
#58
guilty of dling music and the irony is that my hubby is an artist as well and he's seen a huge decrease in royalty this past year so illegal dls are really starting to have a major impact :sad:

I do however buy cds of artists that I truly love. I've never ever bought or dled bootlegged movies though

I buy original art from local artists because I try to support the arts as much as possible

Like many others I've been burned by fake bags, clothes, software etc. but thanks to forum like this it's made me much more aware of what is going on

along with the differences between licensed replicas and outright fakes there are differences between knowingly purchasing counterfeit and being duped
 
#59
tiny cat said:
In terms of designer handbags and furniture, it's pretty clear cut, but in terms of music, and films, and books, it's not so much...
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It is clear cut (at least in the US) & the courts have ruled on it. That's why napster in its old form is no longer around. There are major lawsuits filed this year & next regarding this issue to put the rest out of business or pay up. If someone copyrights it they own it, someone takes that material for their own gain & doesn't pay the copyright holder, They are stealing it & breaking the law. At the beginning or end of every movie/DVD there is a statement from the FBI. Seriously, you haven't seen it?
To get an adaptation for a book, you have to get a release from the author. A production company, distributor, etc. won't even start producing it without this.
 
#60
I honestly can't think of anything illegal. I don't download music (I have dial-up, so I cannot even really watch videos, and I don't own an ipod or even have a customized ring tone on my phone); I don't buy fake bags. I do own costume jewelry, of course, but it is pretty obvious which things in my jewelry box are costume and which are real! I don't own a lot of designer clothing labels, but none of them pretend to be, either.

I work hard to avoid sweatshop labor, but that is next to impossible in this country. Even some things listed as "Made in America" aren't actually, and are made by sweatshop workers (i.e. Marianas Islands), so it is almost impossible to know. I don't shop at Walmart, but I have shopped Target, so surely I am as guilty as most others in the sweatshop labor category.
 
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