Thoughts on SOPA

Today's the big blackout protest day for SOPA, the anti-piracy bill currently wending its way through Congress.

There are a lot of reasons to dislike SOPA.  But as a software developer, I have mixed feelings about the bill, and I have to admit I'm a little annoyed by all the knee-jerk opposition to it. 

Granted, it's a poorly written bill. I don't want to see it passed in its current form. But it does try to address a real problem, and the thing that bugs me is that opposition to the bill never proposes any kind of alternative solution.

As with the whole ratings issue, ultimately the solution should come from the private sector. But the private sector has been achingly silent on the issue.

Here's an example of the kind of thing I'd like to see:

Youtube self-regulates copyright infringement through content search and advertising revenue. It also provides copyright holders a means to flag infringing content for review. Yet if you do a simple Google search for one of my games, you get any number of hits on the first page or two that take you directly to pirate sites where users can (for Android apps) just click a link and download the game for free. I suspect many users who do so don't even know they're pirating the game. And yet Google provides no means for me to flag a link for review. I can, however, flag content as "inappropriate" -- why is that? Boobs bad but pirated software OK?

Maybe it isn't a perfect solution, but it's an example of the kind of thing I'd like to see companies like Google talking about, instead of just putting a stupid black bar over their logo.

So to all o' youse who are applauding the blackout today: Why not take advantage of the browsing downtime and spend a little brain power thinking up real solutions? If you want a vibrant independent game developer community, you need to be concerned not only about free speech, but also about the ability of said independent developers to turn a profit.

Comments

[Himmat]

Yes, I agree with your problem, for I myself downloaded both your games piratedly from the Internet.

I badly wanted both Riptide GP and Shine Runner but I can't buy it from the market as I have no credit card. So I personally posted on your Facebook page about getting your games directly from you and pay via PayPal, but you guys said it's not possible. So, now, is it really my fault for downloading piratedly, when in true fact I am actually more than willing to pay for it?

Quote from Mashable.com: “Most people pirate or purchase pirated content because legal access is unavailable or too difficult to decipher. ”

Hence, why not try offering the game for download from your website as well, where people can pay via PayPal or some other method. I am sure there are many out there in the same position as I am.

Fact is, developers have to do more to make their products more accessible to the people.

[Hans]

Google actually takes DMCA notices for search results too, it is just really slow process. But I agree SOPA sucks, but something needs to change if we want to see more Riptide GP tracks ;) ;)

[Vector Unit]

Well we have a paypal account: paypal@vectorunit.com.

If you HAVE downloaded one of our games from an "unofficial channel", please do consider making a payment of whatever you consider to be a fair price to paypal@vectorunit.com.

As Hans points out -- every dollar we make goes straight into whatever new game we're working on. If you like our games, please contribute!