As you probably know, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) and the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), with their HUGE lobbying power in DC, has for years been telling us about the billions (or was that trillions?) of dollars lost each year due to piracy. Even with the inflated numbers, these two organizations have been pushing congress for years to enact legislation such as the DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to give power to law enforcement officials to crack down on music and movie piracy.

Never mind that the legal power they seem to be garnering against copyright infringement is getting to be downright frightening (think about the RIAA suing grandmothers, 11-year olds, and the estates of people who have died just because someone…not necessarily them…downloaded a music or video file from their house), and never mind that they are having to come up with a “cutesie” name for their legislation so that you don’t realize exactly what it is that they are doing (think “The Patriot Act”…a piece of legislation that stripped more rights from Americans than…well…I digress…). Never mind all of that…and ponder this: Research shows that those who pirate a movie are MORE likely to buy a movie than those who don’t!

Yep! That’s right! All this time when the MPAA has been complaining about the lawlessness of the standard human being who would steal from a fine organization such as the MPAA by downloading movies illegally…they’ve really been talking about some of their best customers!

It turns out that a study performed by one of the largest research companies in the world (click here to read the original article that inspired this post) concluded that those who pirate movies are MORE likely to buy DVDs and MORE likely to attend the release of a new movie at the theater (when the ticket prices are the highest).

Man, I’d LOVE to read such a study…wouldn’t you? Too bad, we won’t be able to. It seems that the un-named person or persons who requested and funded the study decided to “bury” the study…because they found the results to be “unpleasant.”

Well then, I wonder why the MPAA continues to lobby for even more powerful (some might say “outlandish”) powers to be given to law enforcement officials to be used…apparently…against some of their best customers?

Bloggers Note: When you get past the tongue-and-cheek style of my writing for this article, I hope you’ll remember that despite all the antics of the MPAA and the RIAA, downloading movies and recordings illegally is still exactly that…illegal! Please don’t sell your personal integrity for such a small price. More specifically, please do not sell your personal integrity at all. If you want to stick it to the MPAA and RIAA…do it legally. Vote with your dollars! Don’t buy their stuff! Contrary to popular belief, not downloading the latest recording of your favorite artist, or not downloading the latest movie of your favorite actor will NOT immediately turn you into dust! Just some food for thought…