There's no real way to judge the effectiveness of what they're doing. Sure, there's still piracy and it may even be on the rise; but without their efforts it might be even worse. We don't throw away all of our medical science just because people still die from diseases we're trying to prevent or cure, do we? Do we give up on trying to prevent automobile theft just because people are still doing it? After all, just as there are more cars on the road today, hence a higher theft rate, the number of internet users (and specifically, broadband users) has skyrocketed over the past few years, so it's only natural that piracy hasn't disappeared.

I know people who had illegally downloaded music and/or movies who now don't. Each of those people may have been replaced by three people who do, but still, the tactics and PR from the entertainment organizations is definitely getting some people to stop.

The MPAA is stupid to think that their efforts would have a greater impact than they had. With any luck, piracy will one day be vastly diminished, but it's the kind of thing that will take decades (if the studios can survive that long), because it will take a few generations. Right now people are so used to doing it that they're not teaching their kids that it's wrong (because they stubbornly refuse to admit that it IS wrong). It's in teaching kids that it's wrong that progress will be made, just like with the Civil Rights movement and the Equal Rights movement-- kids have to be raised to treat all races and both sexes fairly and with respect; adults can't just change instantly. And even if they can, there's still a ton of media out there that kids are exposed to that can send the wrong message.