jueves, 21 de agosto de 2008

File Sharing



Most people have an idea of what file sharing is, but they are not exactly sure why it's such a big deal.File sharing has become a very large issue today in society even though it has existed for decades. It has been the recent advances in our technology that has made it main stream and in the eyes of the general public. A number of studies have found that file sharing has a negative impact on record sales. Recently in the U.S the music industry has taken legal action against people who had sharing program to exchange music file online to no pay.


Piracy of the Media

When we think of pirates, we see scruffy men with unshaven chins, a bandana, a gold earing, a black patch on one eye, and a wooden leg, men with guns in hand, riding the seas in their wooden ship proudly flying the terrifying skull and crossbones. Well, pirates these days look much different. In fact, you may be sitting by one right now. They are ordinary people who have come to enjoy the technologies the Internet provides. These pirates are boys and girls, women and men, who habitually root themselves in their desk chairs with eyes fixed on the computer screen. But today's pirates have something in common with the pirates of days lost in history. Both steal what doesn't belong to them. Today's pirates sail the Internet on the prowl for a treasure chest of downloadable files.

Internet File Sharing and the Music Industry

Imagine millions of songs accessible in one place. Today songs are just a few clicks away since the introduction of the internet and file sharing. File sharing is simply taking a file and allowing other internet users to download and use the file permanently. The accessibility and use of file sharing programs has devastated the music industry financially. The fact that almost every song recorded today is accessible through a free program encourages most consumers to download rather than buy. This is why illegal file sharing programs are driving the music industry’s profits down.

What Should Be Done?

Copyright owners should be able to protect their intellectual property against digital theft. There have already been a number of lawsuits against heavy users of P2P systems. These lawsuits can and should be pursued vigorously. Existing laws also provide remedies for those who contribute to infringement, such as P2P operators--although there is considerable litigation about how and when such contributory liability can be triggere.


Conclusion:

We think that making copyrighted material instantly available to the world without the owner's permission is stealing, but in the other hand we stronlgy believe that downloading and sharing music without purposes of profit is not illegal . The challenge for policymakers is to curtail this theft of intellectual property without limiting legitimate activity or disturbing technological innovation through regulation

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