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Anecdotal evidence suggests that counterfeiting/piracy can help create online word of mouth (WOM) and through this boost demand, but how powerful is such WOM? To answer this question, we conduct a descriptive study with some attempts to establish near causality. We estimate the impact of piracy on WOM and ultimately revenue by applying a panel data method to all movies widely released in the United States from 2015 to 2017. In identifying the effects of piracy we make inventive use of Russian piracy data to construct instrument variables for piracy in the United States. This is possible because the key piracy site, The Pirate Bay, has been blocked in Russia since 2015. We find movies with prerelease piracy are associated with lower revenues despite the WOM effect. Critically, however, we show a positive correlation between postrelease piracy and WOM volume, and we extend the field by finding that the presence of postrelease piracy is associated with an approximately 3.0% increase in box office revenue. We also note the impact of a raid by the Swedish Police that temporarily took down The Pirate Bay website in December 2014. The period when the site was down experienced a decline in WOM volume and revenues, consistent with the effect of lower postrelease piracy predicted by our models. Our findings suggest approaches to target scarce antipiracy resources, such as focusing on tackling damaging prerelease piracy. This paper was accepted by Juanjuan Zhang, marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film studios have spent the past two decades lobbying extensively to establish new legislation restricting access to copyrighted materials online. While there is growing evidence of the effect film piracy has on studio profits, the evidence on the impact of anti-piracy legislation is limited. If anti-piracy legislation is having the film industry's desired impact, we would expect film revenues to be consistently higher following the passage of major laws that restrict access to pirated content, or major enforcement actions, such as the shutdown of Web sites that provide illegal content for download. This paper applies an intervention analysis approach to weekly data on movie box-office revenues in the USA to determine whether the passage of new anti-piracy policy has generated significant changes in box-office revenues during the period from 1997 to the present. These effects are evaluated in both the short and long term, which allows an assessment of the duration of effectiveness of government actions. The results show that four of the six included policies are ineffective in the long term and those policies that do impact revenues in the short term often harm film studios, rather than help them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the antecedents affecting digital piracy of movies, and evaluate them in the context of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). It will also determine via a proxy measurement, if individuals’ intentions to engage in digital piracy will translate into actual engagement in digital piracy of movies. Design/methodology/approach – In all, 404 students at a large Western Australian University were surveyed using self-administered surveys. The data were analysed via a path analysis using structural equation modelling in order to identify the influences of antecedent factors on individual attitudes and intentions to engage in digital piracy. Finally, through the proxy measurement, actual engagement in digital piracy of movies was evaluated against consumer intentions to perform that behaviour. Findings – The results confirm the identified antecedents (affect, moral judgement, social habit and self-efficacy) as appropriate in evaluating an individual's intentions to engage in digital piracy of movies. The findings indicated that social habit, self-efficacy and attitude towards digital piracy had a positive effect on individual intentions to engage in digital piracy of movies. It also showed that affect is an antecedent factor to attitudes towards digital piracy but also directly influences individual intentions to engage in digital piracy. Moral judgement and social habits was also found to have negative and positive influences on an individual's engagement in digital piracy of movies. Practical implications – This study reinforces previous studies in showing that the neutralisation theory and TPB are effective in explaining attitudes towards digital piracy of movies and intentions to engage in it. It has also sought to ascertain if intentions to engage in digital piracy of movies would significantly influence behaviour to engage in digital piracy of movies via a proxy measurement. Originality/value – This study adds to the literature of piracy in software and music downloads. In terms of digital movies, this study uncovers other possible factors that may affect engagement in digital piracy of movies, which could serve as the basis for future research into the phenomenon of digital piracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study is an attempt to get the insights on attitudes and behaviour of people in the changing media landscape. The study highlights the online piracy of videos, games, movies, slides, mashups etc and addresses the impact that piracy is laying upon on the mindsets of users who are indulged in such activities. The study also signifies the reasons behind piracy, the frequency of doing so, modes of accessing, and likelihood of discontinuing the same. The study is one of its kinds which can be used as a means of awareness against the mass infringement cases which can help in recognizing the need of addressing copyright trolling and thus protecting the unauthorized movement of bits around the internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The music and movie industries have dominated the discussion on Internet piracy. Both industries have employed the use of technologies that limit the ability to share digital files of their audiovisual works, known as digital rights management technology. In addition, both industries have pursued aggressive legal action campaigns to enforce intellectual property rights against individuals who are illegally downloading files and websites that facilitate piracy. But by all counts, these efforts have failed to control the problem, and arguably damaged their reputations. Though music and movie piracy has received the most headlines, the PC video game industry has similarly suffered. The video game industry, too, has pursued the traditional enforcement routes that other industries have used to combat piracy, with the same middling results. Thus, some developers have turned to alternative means of combating piracy, which are primarily aimed at changing the hearts and minds of its gaming community. By fostering a negative social stigma towards piracy, developers have found an effective means of protecting their intellectual property. This Article focuses on two primary methods that video game developers have used to combat Internet piracy. The first method is the use of open pricing models, whereby purchasers pay what they want for a particular game or package of games. The second method is the use of endogenous digital rights management technology that does not entirely restrict access to the game, but which can severely frustrate game play, often in a comical manner. The success of this latter method is unique to the game industry. Ultimately, these methods have had a positive effect on the industry's attempt to combat piracy. intellectual property laws have already been amended and employed to combat piracy. Legislation and litigation are often the first responders to changing industry landscapes. Yet these traditional avenues have been ineffective in protecting intellectual property on the Internet. Perhaps, then, the answer lies in the video game industry's approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines factors that affect online movie piracy activity. Specifically, the authors examine the impact of inexpensive legal streaming services, such as Netflix, and household family income as well as gender. A sample of college students at a private university, representing a more affluent population, are compared with students from a public institution. Initial findings indicate differences between the two samples. Lastly, although digital piracy is reduced among the samples, it does still exist suggesting a much more complex issue than previously thought. • Streaming service usage differs between the schools. • The use of illicit sources for movie piracy is not prevalent among sampled college students. • Ordinal regression found significant differences in the levels of piracy between men and women. • The data shows that the high usage of legal streaming services as whole has greatly reduced movie piracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]