With the launch of Netflix in Indonesia today, consumers of illegally downloaded films have lost one frequently used justification.
One reason that is often given as justification for knowingly downloading illegal content (and breaching the Copyright Law) is that it is difficult to purchase original films. There is some truth to this. There are a very limited number of retailers that sell original DVDs in Indonesia, and those that do generally have a much more limited range than retailers selling pirate DVDs. And the online space is littered with illegal content sharing sites. That’s the reality of a market which the USTR describes as featuring “rampant piracy” (see our post here) and which Indonesia’s own industry associates say has very high rates of music and film piracy (see our post here).
There’s also the cost argument - that pirated content is cheaper, or even free. And while this remains an issue, Netflix has closed the gap. Monthly Netflix subscriptions are being offered from IDR109,000 per month (see here), and pirated DVDs retail for between IDR5,000 and IDR10,000 each. Add to the mix that Netflix content won’t be camcorded (cue people getting up and walking out of a cinema as the credits roll) and that it’s being made available in the comfort of one’s home, and it starts to sound like a pretty good deal.
So what arguments are left for those that insist on downloading illegal content? Another common one is that Hollywood has already generated enough income from its films. But we’ll leave a discussion about the rule of law for another post.
