Google Glass is being banned in the UK, and it actually makes sense where and why. Most movie theaters throughout the United Kingdom will soon request that moviegoers leave the eyewear devices outside the auditorium, even when there is no movie playing.
This may be the next of several tactics that the governments are using to fight piracy. It’s well known among torrent downloaders that every major movie released will always have someone sneak in with a video camera and record it. They then take the recorded file and post it on torrent hosting sites. This makes it next to impossible for government agencies to regulate piracy, because there is no code embedded in a cam file other than to identify the device used.
Piracy is still defined partially as recording a copyrighted work, so technically cam files are still illegal and shouldn’t be distributed or downloaded.
For years now the CIA has been planting its own DVD and Blu Ray rips on torrent sites and tracking whoever downloads them. They then send a notification to the ISP, who in turn emails the downloader and warns them of the legal implications of repeating such actions. Many pirates have turned to cam files as a result, because they carry the same code as simple home movies.
Theater owners still try to stop people from bringing recording devices inside the auditorium, but the continued existence of cam files proves it isn’t completely effective. Having Google Glass banned is the next step, though the device is a poor way to record movies. It won’t stop internet piracy from happening, but it will cut down on the possibility.
Piracy concerns cause U.K. cinemas to ban #GoogleGlass days after launch http://t.co/egHY8zKwht by @harrisonweber pic.twitter.com/rZBKqhWOFg
— Event Magic (@EvntBiz) June 30, 2014
The reason why Google Glass isn’t a practical way to record a movie is that the battery life is lacking. You would literally need to have multiple devices to capture an entire feature film and then edit everything together, and keep your head perfectly still to avoid annoying the downloaders. Also the light from the device is highly visible and could actually disturb other moviegoers. Google Glass piracy is just a lot of work for no profit.
Having the Google Glass banned from theaters might be a little bit overkill, but it certainly shows that theater owners are doing everything they can to prevent piracy.
[image via itpro ]
