[cookiecaper]

Scratch business problem, replace with "legal problem". Copyright law makes it virtually impossible to compete with Netflix. Netflix was only allowed to start because they wedged their way in as a rent-by-mail service.

After pioneering streaming and realizing that the studios were asking themselves why they don't just load up their own computers with movies and get paid to stream them out, Netflix was forced to start its own content division to keep subscribers onboard and prevent the studios from poaching all of their customers by failing to renew contracts for content.

We have a similar problem in online services. It's impossible to compete with Facebook because the law allows them to hold data hostage.

We badly need copyright reform. The current incarnation is impractical in the digital age.

[philliphaydon]

I don't understand what this has to do with copyright laws. This has to do with content licensing and studios not wanting to license content...

[cookiecaper]

The copyright laws are what give studios the rights to license that content. Right now, most things published commercially after 1923 are copyrighted and require permission from their rightsholder to distribute. That's practically the entire history of cinema locked up tight.

Copyright should be adjusted so that people can make money off of their creations without allowing the culture to be held hostage to corporations. If the copyright term was shortened to, say, 10 years, a Netflix-with-only-content-from-10-years-ago would be totally viable without having to ask for anyone's permission.

Copyright is a government-granted monopoly. It's gotten totally out of control and severely restricts competition in this type of space.

[philliphaydon]

That implies the studios don't own the copyright which means they shouldn't be suing for piracy.

The movie industry has Long spent its years fighting piracy instead of providing a solution to a problem. Now there are solutions to the problem and the industry is refusing to adapt and continues to hold the content for themselves instead of licensing it to the likes of Netflix.

We know the studios have the right to license content because that's exactly what they do when they sell licenses over seas to broadcasters in other countries to air content.

This isn't about copyright. It's about the studios lack of ability to license content.

This is why in 2017 piracy is still a major issue.

[obsurveyor]

This is a very naive view of the issue. There are many hands in the production of a film and many rights associated with are assigned at the time it was made, screening rights, distribution rights, periods for when rights expire, etc. When new technology, such as streaming on computers, comes about, the licensing of new rights needs to be established all over again with all the rights holders. A single holder that can't be contacted or established(due to death, closure, acquisition, etc) can effectively put any new licensing into limbo.

This isn't even getting into exclusivity licensing that the studios seem to be real keen on doing with Netflix, Amazon, Crackle, VUDU and a jillion other streaming services. You know those shows that are branded "Netflix Original" on Netflix? Those aren't literally made by Netflix, they've just paid for some/all of the production and licensed them exclusively for some period of time. They're still produced by all the same studios that have been producing shows and movies for years.

[cstejerean]

It wouldn't matter to Netflix. The really old titles are cheap and Netflix always carries them. The problem Netflix had/had is access to latest releases. When it comes to movies this the bulk of what people want to watch. Since they couldn't guarantee access to new content they had to pay to produce their own new content.

[cookiecaper]

I think it'd matter because right now, there is not really a market for only public domain video content, because such content is so sparse. If we made copyright expire after 10 years, I think there are a lot of people who'd be content with the "classics", and it'd allow innovation and competition to occur between "classics" providers, which is what will give customers the best experience.

Right now, competition is hamstrung because people are prevented from entering the market with anything that the consumer would find desirable, barring permission from the rightsholders.

Competition is not real competition if the same data cannot be accessed. For example, Chrome and Firefox compete because they both access the same internet, and whichever browser provides the better experience for that internet will win out. That kind of thing is not possible on walled gardens like Facebook because the law allows them to obliterate anyone who would create an alternate "Facebook browser", and it's not possible with things whose primary offerings fall under copyright protection, like Netflix.

We need to open these things up so that people can compete and provide the consumer with the best experience without needing anyone else's permission. It's true that most people will want access to new releases, but if copyright expired after 10 years, you'd at least have a secondary service that people would actually want to use, which would compete with Netflix et al for viewership on a lot of the content.

[eyko]

I'd like to see Rambo and The Terminator on Netflix.