The example above ties into Internet Piracy because downloading software, movies, music etc. off the Internet without the artists/companies permission is theft and against the law. Software theft is becoming a trend across the world and is widely practiced. Software piracy hurts not only companies but the end-user as well and results of software piracy have led to higher prices for honest law abiding users and a reduced level of support.
The losses suffered as a result of software piracy directly affect the profitability of the software industry. Because of the money lost to pirates, publishers have fewer resources to devote to research and development of new products, have less revenue to justify lowering software prices and are forced to pass these costs on to their customers. Breaking the law and participating in piracy have led to vendors and companies taking serious actions in order to cut down on illegal downloading and distribution of their product, however, it not only effects companies but as stated before it also hurts users as well. For instance, those who use pirated software: Increase the chances that the software will not function correctly or will fail completely, forfeit access to customer support, upgrades, technical documentation, training, and bug fixes and are subject to significant fines for copyright infringement.
Software piracy is stealing, just like taking a product from the store and not paying for it (grocery store example). If you or your company are caught copying and/or distributing illegal copies of software, you could be held liable under both civil and criminal laws. Software owners can sue you and seek monetary damages which brings up the U.S Copyright Law. The U.S Copyright Law states under Title 17 U.S.C. Section 101 et seq., Title 18 U.S.C. Section 2319 : Copyright infringements can be punishable by up to five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Repeat offenders can be imprisoned for up to 10 years. Violators can also be held civilly liable for actual damages, lost profits, or statutory damages up to $150,000 per work.
As a college student, I do not know a single friend, acquaintance or even teacher that could pay off those fines stated above. So why are people still downloading illegally even though the consequences are very severe? Possibly because the users are not up to date of how serious downloading material is and it's convenient, you do not have to pay 20 dollars to see a movie or pay 30 dollars to listen to a CD twice and never listen to it again.
I believe if the issue of Piracy was brought to light and users could see how devastating the consequences of Piracy are then they would get the message not to do or participate in doing it. Earlier I mentioned working in a grocery store and the problem of theft and our companies decision to do something about it by closing an one of the doors. This sparked at first concerns from customers but when they figured out why we did this they understood and found out that we were not going to take theft lightly.
Piracy has severe consequences if caught and I believe if companies and law makers would make it a point to make examples out of the pirates who download their material illegally to the world, not only will Piracy cut down but the consumer will have a better experience and have an increase in level of support.
For more information regarding this topic and sources of this blog check out the links below:
- http://www.ipd.gov.hk/eng/intellectual_property/study_aids/software_piracy_fact/software_piracy_fact_c.htm
- http://www.siia.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345:consequences-of-software-piracy&catid=162:anti-piracy-articles&Itemid=373
- http://www.symantec.com/about/profile/antipiracy/consequences.jsp
- http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/20050412c.html
Can some who had their work stolen sue for any amount they want?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/504
DeleteThis website explains in detail remedies of infringement: damages and profits, to answer your question using the website I have given above it states:
The copyright owner is entitled to recover the actual damages suffered by him or her as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer that are attributable to the infringement and are not taken into account in computing the actual damages. In establishing the infringer’s profits, the copyright owner is required to present proof only of the infringer’s gross revenue, and the infringer is required to prove his or her deductible expenses and the elements of profit attributable to factors other than the copyrighted work. (Actual damages and Profits)
Statutory Damages: Except as provided by clause (2) of this subsection, the copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover, instead of actual damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in the action, with respect to any one work, for which any one infringer is liable individually, or for which any two or more infringers are liable jointly and severally, in a sum of not less than $750 or more than $30,000 as the court considers just. For the purposes of this subsection, all the parts of a compilation or derivative work constitute one work.
(2) In a case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his or her acts constituted an infringement of copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not less than $200.
For more information use the website I have given in my reply, it is a good source of information regarding piracy and laws regarding piracy. Thanks
Thank you so much for posting about this, because many of us practice online piracy, many times without even realizing it! I just read something in another blog by other classmates who talked about the losses suffered by artists and production companies due to illegal distribution of software and music, but they mentioned that the artists make up for the losses by using Facebook and other social media sources of revenue. However, even though the artists and production companies were able to deal with the issue, that does not make what is wrong in the first place right! I believe that downloading illegal music, videos, movies over the internet is a form of participation in piracy and theft, and I am not just being harsh on people. I realize that it is tempting and much easier and more affordable to do so, however, we need to still abide by our morals when it comes to these electronic goods, because they are just like tangible goods that people steal at grocery stores, retail, etc. Thanks for using that above example by the way and it related to the issue directly, I work at a retail store and we face the same problem, however the corporate office places most of the responsibility on us as employees and not on people who steal! So as a retail costumer service associate I am responsible for my job duties + monitoring people who choose to walk into the store and steal, please keep that in mind when downloading anything illegally off of the web again
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading; I realize that my blogs are long so when someone takes the time out and reads what I have to say it makes it worth while. Piracy is illegal and should be more monitored because corporations and artists take time out of their lives to produce the product for their fans and customers. In regards to your corporate office putting the responsibility on the employees I believe that this is concerning; during our time on the job our main focus is getting the product on the shelves for people to buy to make the corporation money. If they were to have better security standards and practices this would eliminate theft almost completely. For instance, as an employee at Food Lion I can witness a theft but cannot confront them until they are about to leave, furthermore I cannot confront them outside the store. I know that anyone can be in the parking lot but come on already, I can't confront the person if the ways of doing so are limited. Eh, anyways I digress, as long as I am doing my job to the fullest potential and making true customers happy at the end of the day that's all I care about. Corporate can handle it hahaha
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