An ad I saw prior to a film this evening in Canada has caused me to think more about Lessig’s call to a War on War of sorts regarding the downloading debate.

I am not sure if it is running in the US, but an ad I have seen in both Canada and back home in Australia points to a monumental challenge that faces those who wish to challenge the copyright status quo. The ad is for “Piracy is a crime” and equates downloading music and buying ‘pirate’ DVDs as being equal to stealing a car or a purse. The fact that I’ve seen this ad on two continents points to an amassing of resources far greater than that posessed by others. “Piracy is a crime” is produced by the Industry Trust for IP Awareness, supported by music and movie retailers and major record labels and film companies.

More problemmatic though, is that the debate can’t be encapsulated in a 30 second movie ad. Industry Trust for IP Awareness may see their message as being fairly simple - dowloading is a crime, same as any other crime, but it really isn’t. What about downloading when the artist gives their ok? What about copying a CD if you are a broadcaster? How about copying music onto a mp3 player (which is soon to become legal in Australia, due to the Free Trade Agreement).

So how can the negative messages be countered, and how can advocates reach the public?

Also, Kottke.org has a comprehensive summary of the evening with many quotes that illustrate the discussion well, including a comment from Tweedy that has great implications for those of us in the library world too -

My favorite quote of the evening, from Tweedy (I think I got this down accurately): “I’d like people to hear my music and say they don’t like it rather than not be able to hear it because they can’t afford it”.