As technology becomes more ND more advanced, so do the thieves that are always looking for ways to cheat the systems in place. These pirates' objectives are to upload software to torrent sites which allow users to download almost any content imaginable for free.
These acts have been going on since the late sass's, but the ideas of peer to peer (POP) sharing had been around since before the birth of the internet (The History of Internet Piracy). As one could imagine, the wake from this thievery is enormous, and has caused major lobbyists such as the Motion Picture Association of America and theRecording Industry Association of America to gather on Capitol Hill for help. There have been many studies showing a steady rise In the amount of internet users Infringing copyrights, and unless there Is a major change In legislation, that trend will continue (Dunker). While corporations scramble to find a way to stop this file sharing of intellectual property, internet pirates are a step ahead, looking for new loot to plunder.
The loot they want to steal is software, and they intend to copy and share it with other users around the world.One might ask, "What exactly is software? " Well, software is "the entire set of programs, procedures, and related documentation associated with a system and especially a computer system; specifically: computer programs" (Full Definition of Software). The intentions of these pirates are to share premium grade software for free, and they ask nothing In return of the users who download the software. Recent statistics indicate that ninety-one percent of the files available for download are, In fact, copyrighted material ("Online Piracy In Numbers - Facts and Statistics").
These statistics have also stated that each year there Is over Hess apiaries even affect workers and the work force ("Online Piracy in Numbers ; Facts and Statistics"). According to these statistics, 71 ,060 jobs have been lost in the united States every year due to online piracy, and $2. 7 billion in workers' earnings are lost each year as well ("Online Piracy in Numbers - Facts and Statistics"). The substantial effects of internet piracy are violent and far-reaching, but to truly understand these crimes one must know its history.The idea of sharing files is not a new one.
The concept was thought up before the internet itself was in place. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) had existed before email was invented, and was used heavily up to that point (The History of Internet Piracy). In 1999, "Anapest," the first POP application was developed (The History of Internet Piracy). Without a doubt, there Is a direct correlation between Anapests time of existence and the popularity of file sharing as Its mall goal was to offer an easy way for users to share their music to others (The History of Internet Piracy).
Today, file sharing and internet piracy have grown to new broadband internet access has become faster and more affordable. This combination is already having a huge impact on the film, music, and software industry and the problem is growing rapidly as file sharing becomes more widespread. As the use of file sharing increases like a rapidly spreading wildfire, many corporations and law makers are attempting to combat the internet pirates through passing bills.Legislation has already been put in place to try and counteract these downloads by users, but so far, these bills have done little to nothing. According to York Technical College: All copyright owners have the right to seek recovery of actual damages and cost profits when infringement takes place. Infringement disputes are heard in federal court and if penalties are assessed, they may include issuing an injunction, impounding and disposing of infringing articles and equipment, and awarding actual damages and lost profits proven by the plaintiff.
Criminal penalties may apply when infringement is willfully committed for commercial advantage or financial gain or when in a 180-day period, copyrighted works with a retail value of $1,000 or more are reproduced and/or distributed. If the violated work has been registered with the U. S. Copyright Office, the courts may also award statutory damages ranging from $750 to $30,000 for the infringement of any one work, and up to $150,000 in the case of willful infringement in addition to awarding attorney's fees and costs.In cases where the defendant proves that he was unaware that he was infringing on copyright, the court has the option of reducing statutory damages to an award of not less than $200.
(Copyright Infringement Definition and Penalties) As one can see the fines are hefty, but alas, this has not slowed the progressive nature of technology and the criminals hat come with it; however, lawmakers have recently began to lobby for new laws against file sharing once more (Recording Industry Takes Anti-Piracy Cause to Capitol Hill).In the end, internet piracy has been around for a while, and the future looks no different at this point in time. While some users claim that there is nothing wrong with illegally downloading, tell that to the thousands of workers left without work. These millions of users are the cause of an economical injury, and are too oblivious to the effects of their actions. These users have the mindset of, "What is one more errors? " Now imagine millions of people with that same thought process.
