Generally I would take the other side of this issue, however, on this one I'm going to assume the creator means piracy in it's most prolific form and not the people who, from time to time download or buy pirated versions of a film.

The studios own the copyright and the films are their intellectual property. I think they do take a hit when copies are made by the thousands and sold for profit. I don't think there's a way of knowing how much money we're talking about but I'd be willing to bet it's a pretty fair amount on some films. If it's worth their time and effort to protect themselves from piracy may not be the whole issue.

Several years ago we faced the same thing when music downloads were all free and no one cared. When they began to calculate how much they were losing on each song things got hot and now, as we all know, we have to pay for our downloads albeit some peer to peer sites that do exist where the freebie is the thing. The difference with music, from my personal standpoint, is that they made more money on most of this since it gave someone a chance to listen to an unknown group and then go out to buy the CD. There are a few genres that I wouldn't have had in my collection if it wasn't for Napster and the like.

Film doesn't work that way. You can be turned on to an actor or director and think the next film starring this person or being directed by that person will be a hit. No such luck in film. The studios would like to make a point here and have it all end up like on-line music did. I still think they'll lose some money but the pursuit of piracy may be well worth it to them in the end...if there is one!

When there are plenty of movie still grossing 200 million during the summer months I'm guessing that the affect of piracy is problem not as far reaching as the movie studios think. Then again, I'm not a movie studio, nor do I have the numbers in front of me.

Still, at the same time you can't fault the studio for trying to protect their property. I think these days we all think we're entitled to free entertainment because it's so accessible, and it's easy not to feel guilty when you're plucking intellectual property from giant movie studios that have truck loads of money. The reality is that the films are their work, and they have a right to control where and how is it distributed, just as much as a student film makes has control over his work.

It would be great if we could watch these movies free, on the internet legally. But sadly instead of doing this the big companies decide to stop people doing, what we all know will happen anyway.

To be truly honest, there's always going to be someone that knows how to get around the piracy, so i really don't think they should be wasting their time trying to stop it...

‘The Dark Knight’ Pirate Movie Update | Batman’s 38 Piracy Free Hours Deemed Success

>.> 38 hours....... thats not long yet my mate filmed it lol!! (he was one of the first to see it)

no... its stupid i want free movies i hate going to see em on the "big screen" gosh......

It's not like Pracy is a good thing, but is it really such a bad thing that movie studio's should waste their time and G-d knows how much money to protect a handfull of people from watching it for free? I think that's a big down-profit for them! Especially when they could be spending their time making more movies to make up for the (like what? $10,000 loss; which in retrospect really isn't that much seeing as how hit movies like Dark Knight bring in W-A-Y more than that!)

Piracy will happen regardless. It has always happened. Piracy is NOT theft. It is copying not stealing.

"Protecting" themselves from piracy just wastes money.

Look, here is the jagged pill corporation do not want to swallow.

Our generation (Y) refuses to just buy blindly. I will not buy a show that I don't know if I like. I use the internet to download shows then I buy the ones that I really like. I refuse to becomes a blind bovine consumer like the generations before me. Many times I'll even download a movie that's in theaters just to see if I wanna spend the money to see it in a theater.

I won't but a car without a test drive either so...

This all goes back to information too. When I go to a movie theater I believe I am paying for the experience of viewing the information on a big screen with a huge sound system. I am not paying just to ingest the information. I am paying for the presentation. Just like a dvd. I am paying for the package, the quality, the extras, because in the 21st century I can get the information on the net if I want to.

But if I think the creators DESERVE my money then I will gladly slap down the cash, and that's what I mean about not becoming a bovine consumer buying randomly. I want my money to mean something when I spend it. When I buy a movie it's because they deserve my money, not because I HAVE to pay to see it.

This is why the people who give things away can still make money.

To finish back on point I'll just say that you cannot stop people from pirating/hacking your stuff. The people will always crack your anti piracy software and make you waste your money. Every time someone make new DRM or whatever technology they should just stamp PWNED on their heads 10 minutes after they finish because that's how long it will take for someone to crack it.

People wil laways do things that are against the law and some of these studios make billions so what is a couple of people going to do to ruin that. They will use millions but what is that when you make over a billion every year making movies. Plus the free part makes people want to make thier own versions of their favrotite movies to watch.