Is Piracy the Last Hope of Preservation?

Remember the PSA “Don’t Copy That Floppy!”? Thanks to those that did, we still have access to tens of thousands of games and applications from the past that we may never have seen again. That isn’t where it ends …

Don’t Copy That Floppy was an anti–copyright infringement propaganda campaign run by the Software Publishers Association beginning in 1992.

Since the beginning of the home video gaming revolution in the 1970s and 1980s — there has been a war being fought every single day.

The war between content owners and pirates.

This war spans decades and platforms — from computers to consoles — from VHS tapes to 4k UHD discs; if it could be copied and distributed, it has.

The content holders explain that this is theft. If you partake of apps|games|media|other you didn’t pay for, you are stealing revenue from them — like if you were stealing a car, a purse or any other property.

Are they wrong?

The pirates (those that crack protection schemes — be it off software or digital movie discs — as well as distribute it) will tell you that these are not lost profits at all since most pirates wouldn’t be buying the content ANYWAY. That…