U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Consider PIRACY case

Internet piracy had grown enormously in the past few years. Despite the need to stop this trend, majority of webified people are unaware that pirating online or downloading pirated files online is an offense. As members of a law-abiding society, we understand the concept that we cannot steal people’s property. Whether we come from a highly industrialized or developing country, most of us would not steal or intend to steal. Generally, people are honest and would not appropriate things that do not belong to them. In fact, when we need something, we buy. Yet, most of us seem vulnerable in applying this ideology when we get connected online. We download without paying, utilize software without purchasing, and commonly think that we will not get caught by doing so. The lack of public awareness in internet piracy is one of the crucial elements which stimulate such act. By comparing the degree of public awareness with the growth of online piracy, we can say that even if various government authorities try to make noise about copyright policies at the speed of sound, online piracy is whizzing at the speed of light.
The roaring culture of net surfing that started in the early 90’s had caused the internet to develop with its fastest pace. For many business-minded individuals and associations, internet has become a great source of hard cash. One primary example is when companies supply free music downloads to visitors who visit their websites, so that web hosts make money by each “hit” from the viewers. On the other hand, musical downloads slowly took place in a large scale format. Another example is when free access to nude sites are given and visitors are free to download, without sufficient authorization, naked pictures, videos and “scandals” from other sites. It truly runs against reason for anybody to go naked or engage in “acrobatic acts” only to be viewed by the “pirate” without getting paid for it. I know I won’t do it, unless the pirate does the same for me.

Unfortunately, even the U.S. Supreme Court REFUSED TO CONSIDER an appeal by an online publisher that claims credit-card companies are enabling the piracy of its pictures of nude models, just last December 3, 2007. The case is Perfect 10 Inc. v. CCBill LLC, 07-266. Related material (not the nude models, but the highlights of the case) can be viewed at:
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8TA1PFO0.htm or
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/ap/2007/12/03/justices-turn-down-online-piracy-case

What does this tell us? Perhaps at this time, even the U.S. Supreme Court is not ready to tackle certain issues related to piracy, such as privacy and other constitutional rights or raising public awareness. My other guess would be that some Justices just recently discovered that they can view naked women online without having to buy a copy of Playboy or Penthouse. Naaaah, I don’t think they’re that old. Or maybe their personal credit cards were used to access these sites? Hmmm….

We will never know.