Ericsson Recognizes That 'Piracy' Isn't The Problem, But A Symptom Of Failed Business Models

from the good-for-them dept

Just about a week ago, I stated:

The folks in the industry (and the politicians who support them) keep thinking that the problem is "piracy." And if they just got rid of these "freeloaders," the business model solves itself. That is, they look at infringement as the problem, and business model problems as the symptoms. They've got it backwards. The problem is the business model. The infringement is the symptom -- showing that they haven't yet adapted. If you look at the history of infringement, it's the same thing every time: it's always been a leading indicator of industry not adapting fast enough.

Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking that way. Rene Summer, Director of Government and Industry Relations at Ericsson, has more or less said the same thing:

"File-sharing is a symptom of a problem, rather than a problem in itself. This problem is the inadequate availability of legal, timely, competitively priced and wide-ranging choices of affordable digital-content offerings. Consumers also expect to be able to make decisions freely regarding when and how to consume the content of their choice. By clinging to outdated business methods such as windowing and territoriality, economic-rights holders are in fact creating the consumer behavior against which they so violently protest."

Is this the point where I whine about being ripped off? I'm trying to understand how that works...

More seriously, it's good that this concept is getting some traction. Once you realize that "piracy" is a symptom of an unsatisfied consumer base, you begin to recognize that it's often the leading indicator for innovation. That's because it shows you what consumers want, and satisfying the desires of consumers is where innovation comes from.

Filed Under: business model, piracy, symptom
Companies: ericsson