Independent filmmakers feel the squeeze of piracy

The Hollywood studios have for years warned that piracy harms their business, especially when copies of big summer movies leak out on the Internet and undercut ticket sales. But the alarms haven't elicited much sympathy among the public. Movie piracy is undermining the small fry of Hollywood: the independent filmmakers, who have also been squeezed by tightening credit and fewer outlets for their work as the studios have retrenched from making specialty films.

The spread of high-speed Internet services and streaming software has made it easy for consumers to watch movies and TV shows without paying the people who create them. Filmmakers who typically can't afford the battery of lawyers to go after purveyors of unauthorized content have been hit especially hard. Most independent filmmakers don't rely on ticket sales to recoup their investment because the majority of their films never make it into theaters. Instead, independent films rely on DVD sales when their movies head directly into the home video market. But consumers have substantially cut back on their purchases of DVDs as legitimate online viewing options become readily available. Some filmmakers and distributors are fighting back, hiring lawyers to file copyright infringement cases against websites that offer free movies, as well as against individuals suspected of illegally downloading from file-sharing services.