An owner of the copyright can give or deny permission for an individual to use the work publicly. In the case of music there are two copyrights. The first copyright is that of the music and lyrics, in which case the artist owns. The second copyright is where file sharing becomes illegal. The second copyright is the copyright to the actual recording of the "song" in this instance. This is the basis for Recoding Industry Association of America's (RIAA) argument in that file sharing is illegal and should be band and the perpetrators brought to justice. The copyright of the recording of a song is indeed held by the artist's label and therefore it is the labels right by law to say who can distribute copies. However, the Copyright Act did establish limitations on the rights of the owner. One major limitation is the doctrine of "fair use." The fair use doctrine essentially says this; the use of copyrighted material for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright.
"Fair use," is the major exception to the Copyright Act, however can the "fair use" doctrine be applied to the massive file sharing networks of today. The answer is a simple no. For example if you are a professor and you need a song to play for your class you turn to Kazaa (a widely used file sharing network) and download this particular song for educational purposes you are protected under the "fair use" doctrine of the Copyright Act, however even though you are using the song to teach which complies with the "fair use" doctrine it is illegal because the method in which the song was obtained, and there for you would not be protected by the "fair use" doctrine. We are of course assuming that the song was obtained from an unlicensed user, meaning that the user in which the song was obtained from did not have the approval from the owner of the copyrighted material; this is a fair assumption to make because of the amount of users on Kazaa.
How can two hundred million people worldwide be wrong? Fifty million Americans are illegally file-sharing billions of songs on the Internet daily. ... When people share, more music is sold. ... File-sharing should be accepted as a promotional tool. ... In conclusion, the RIAA should not be suing file-sharers but rather embrace the new technology we have and use it to their advantage. ...
A music industry trade organization, the International Freedom of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), showed that more and more people are switching from free, illegal file swapping to online music stores. ... European, Canadian, and Asian music executives have been also irritated by the large sum of people swapping files for free so they will follow the U.S. The industry was built because free file-sharing networks have been slowing down the music sales for three years. ... Free music file-swapping is wrong for copyrighted but I believe music albums are outrageously priced. ... This debate seem...
There's something very wrong with this. ... Although file-sharing programs have allowed users to freely distribute illegal copies of software it is not entirely their fault. ... In the article it explains how universities restrict ways in dealing with file-sharing programs such as using bandwidth management tools to block or restrict file swapping. This is a bad way to prevent users from file-sharing because bandwidth management programs can only do so much. Not saying they don't restrict users from file-sharing, they do, but to say it isn't the best answer to piracy. ...
Illegal Downloading In the past ten years Internet music sharing has become a huge issue in the recording industry. ... Many people do not even realize what they are doing is wrong. ... With file sharing songs are reaching millions, if not billions of potential consumers. ... The recording industry is frenzied by the popularity of file sharing. ... File sharing has been around for many, many years, and though the Big Whigs will continue to eliminate it, it will remain for countless more. ...
In recent months the R.I.A.A. or Record Industry Association of America has announced the filing of lawsuits directed towards individuals who have engaged in file sharing on the Internet. ... Many believe it is wrong to share music, movies, and software using programs on the Internet because it can be looked at as stealing copywritten material. ... Others argue that these things should be allowed to be shared and it is wrong to prosecute people for doing so. Although neither opinion can be justified as right, this type of file sharing is now labeled illegal and continuing sharing of songs and ...
Countless individuals believe that file sharing and online piracy is completely and utterly wrong and unethical which acknowledges being no disparate than thieving and therefore should be illegal in Australia. ... In todays society, online piracy and file sharing has inevitably blown out into newer proportions. ... Consequently, is the distribution of sharing files furthermore illegal and not allowed or is it to be considered an offence of theft? ... Many Australian citizens strongly have the opinion that file sharing should be free and available to all. ... File sharing and online piracy of...
As a result, an average iPod contains $800 worth of pirated music. 70% of online users find nothing wrong in online piracy (go-gulf.com). ... With the rapid rise of the internet and worldwide sharing of files in the 20th and 21st century, the rise of torrenting and online piracy also greatly peaked. One of the first major file sharing websites that began it all in the late 20th century was Napster. ... In July of 2001, Napster was forced to completely stop the sharing of illegally downloaded music without its users paying for it (cracked.com). ... With advances in technology and media sharing...
There's something very wrong with this. ... Although file-sharing programs have allowed users to freely distribute illegal copies of software it is not entirely their fault. ... In the article it explains how universities restrict ways in dealing with file-sharing programs such as using bandwidth management tools to block or restrict file swapping. This is a bad way to prevent users from file-sharing because bandwidth management programs can only do so much. Not saying they don't restrict users from file-sharing, they do, but to say it isn't the best answer to piracy. ...
The suit claimed that Jordan, in devising a program called "ChewPlastic.com", had used the college's network to illegally swap MP3 files. The suit was ultimately settled out of court, with the RIAA agreeing that Jordan had done nothing wrong, and Jordan paying $12,000 (his life savings) to the RIAA. ... Rumors abound of software designed to infect a computer that has been used to download illegal MP3 files. ... He expressed his feelings during a discussion on methods of frustrating computer users who illegally exchange music files over the I...
