Internet File-sharing Technology - Essay Example

 Should Internet File-Sharing be Illegal? Total Number of Words: 1,391 Table of Contents I. Introduction ………………………………………………………………… 3 II. Middle Position …………………………………………………………….. 4 a. The U.S. Copyright Act ……………………………………………. 4 b. Qtrax enables Fans to Download Free Songs ……………………. 4 III. Yes Position ………………………………………………………………… 5 a. Kazaa will be Out of Business in Australia ……………………….. 5 IV. No Position …………………………………………………………………. 6 V. Discussion ………………………………………………………………….. 6 VI. Conclusion ………………………………………………………………….. 7 References …………………………………………………………………………… 8 - 9 Introduction Since the late 1990s, TV shows, the music and movie industry has significantly affected by the development and advancement of information technology. Instead of the traditional way of making the music industry profitable through selling of CD’s, DVD’s and the promotion of concerts via agencies manager, music publisher, recording companies and music retail outlets (Dolfsma, 2000); musicians could directly reach their customers with the use of information technology and the Internet via media industry. Technological development related to MP3 and Napster increases the rate of music piracy today. Specifically the use of MP3 enables the user “to easily collect, listen to, and distribute music” within the shortest possible time free from monetary charges. (Brain, n.d., b) On the other hand, Napster was the pioneer in the concept of the peer-to-peer file sharing. (Tyson, n.d.) In line with the use of MP3 and Napster, people are more tempted to commit more crimes related to the violation of the copyright law. The problem attached with legalizing the online file-sharing services of Kazaa (Holton, 2008; Thompson, 2004), Grokster, Linewire and Morpheus (Restivo, 2005) is the fact that it will enable the consumers to easily purchase and download cheap digital music, videos and movies directly from the online services’ websites and not from the musicians who have copyrights over specific songs. For this reason, music and video copyright holders have been complaining on copyright theft practices. (Mark, 2004) In line with the on-going debate on whether the Internet file-sharing services should be considered as a legally accepted practice or not (Weitzner, 2006), the researcher will analyze certain facts on the legal system and economic point-of-view with regards to the advantages and disadvantages of illegalizing the Internet file-sharing based on the result of the researcher’s previous study. Accordingly, the researcher will discuss the factors that contributed to the respondents’ decision for taking the ‘middle’, ‘yes’, and ‘no’ position. By weighing the possible effects of illegalizing the Internet file-sharing global practices, the researcher will provide a valid justification for concluding on whether or not the Internet file-sharing practices should be illegal for violating the copyright infringement law. Middle Position Majority or 68% of the respondents agree that the country’s political parties should implement stronger copyright laws in order to protect the rights of the musicians and video makers over their own creations. On top of the advantages of file-transfer technology, these respondents acknowledge the limitations of a file-transfer technology such that it is ethically accepted to respect the rights of the people who own the copyrighted materials. For this reason, it is necessary to seek permission to copy or download anything through a file-transfer technology. The U.S. Copyright Act Based on the U.S. constitution over the Copyright Act, “the Congress should use their authoritative power to promote the progress of Science and Arts by securing the Authors the exclusive Right to their writings or creations.”1 (Princeton University, 2008) In other words, the law protects the Intellectual rights of the musicians/song writers who have applied for a copyright over their composed songs as well as the authors who were able to successfully ‘copyright’ a book or other related written works. The U.S. Copyright Act does not only protect the writings of an author or songs of song writers but also other tangible works like paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos, recorded music, sheet music, computer programs, video games, architectural designs, and choreography among others. Basically, anything under a copyright protection should not be distributed in the public domain. (Princeton University, 2008) Therefore, it is clear that the act of copying or spreading the copyrighted materials to the public is a crime committed against the law on Copyright Act. Qtrax enables Fans to Download Free Songs It is possible to provide free music downloads to people without violating the Copyright law. In the case of Qtrax, the website offers the first free and 100% legal Peer-2-Peer music application. (QTRAX, 2008) In order for Qtrax to provide free music for all, the website management made a direct agreement with each of the recording publishers to license their content for the online distribution of songs. Based on a report, as much as 3 billion music files are being traded on peer-to-peer network each month wherein the website owners earn as much as $60 million each year from its advertisers. (Thompson, 2004) In line with this matter, Qtrax will make the advertisers compensate for each downloaded and played music on behalf of Qtrax. Yes Position As much as 20% of the respondents did not agree to legalize the file-sharing on the Internet mainly because of the possibility that some of the world’s most popular website that offers file-sharing services will no longer be available to the public. Kazaa will be Out of Business in Australia Kazaa, owned by Sharman Networks Ltd., has been very successful in the peer-to-peer business. (Thompson, 2004) As of 2004, Kazaa gathers as much as 100 million users worldwide. In line the success of Kazaa, the Australian music industry filed a legal case against Kazaa due to its violation on the copyright law. The possibility that the business will no longer be available in Australia emotionally affects many of its frequent users. No Position Only 12% of the respondents agree that the file-sharing technology should not be illegalized for the reason that the Internet technology has already become an important tool in communications. According to Phil Leigh, the analyst of consultancy Inside Digital Media, the legal file-sharing services is expected to increase by 20%. (Thompson, 2004) Considering the sudden decline in the sales of CDs, the music industry today are already trying new business strategies that could beat the sales of digital music. For this reason, there should be a fair competition between the traditional music industry and the existence of the peer-to-peer transfer technology. Instead of illegalizing the use of the file-transfer technology, it is more appropriate to push more teens to learn more about the legal issues behind the on-line music companies such as Apple Computer Inc. and the iTunes store. Discussion Right after the increasing number of Napster users, the company attempted to narrow down the gap between the copyright law and the use of the file transfer technology. Napster’s effort on narrowing down the gap resulted to the development of the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA) of 1992. The Act requires all digital recording machines to have a system that could enable digital recorders to create a first copy of a digitally recorded music. In line with this matter, all second copy that comes from the original copy is not legally allowed. (U.S. Copyright Office, 2003) The Act also states the requirement that all manufacturers should pay tax which will be given to the copyright owners in order to avoid cases of copyright infringement against the manufacturers as well as the end-users of digital recording equipments. (U.S. Copyright Office, 2003; Duke L. and Tech. Rev., 2002) Today, on-line peer-to-peer websites could already provide free music downloads to people without violating the Copyright law such as in the case of Qtrax. In fact, the long period of debate between the use of the Internet file-sharing technology and the music industry challenges the website owners that offer free music downloads to develop a new business strategy that will not violate the Copyright Act that protects the intellectual property rights of the musicians and other copyright owners. Conclusion The Internet file-sharing technology should not be illegalized because of the benefits it gives to the people. There are ways in which websites that offer file-transfer system to its customers without violating the copyright law. Instead of illegalizing the file-transfer technology, the U.S. government officials should encourage the educational institutions to teach students particularly those who are studying business and information technology courses the importance of the Copyright law. Instead of fully protecting the profitability of the music industry, the U.S. government should promote a fair competition between the two parties. This type of system will allow both parties to improve the quality of services they render to the public. Besides, technology changes with time. For this reason, it becomes a major responsibility of the music industry to keep up with the fast changing technology. Furthermore, the sudden decline in the sales of CDs does not literally mean that the music industry is totally losing money. References: Brain, Marshall. "How Stuff Works.com." n.d. How MP3 Works. 20 February 2008 . Dolfsma, Wilfred. "How Will the Music Industry Weather the Globalization Storm?" First Monday - Peer-Reviews Journal on the Internet (2000): Vol. 5, number 5. Duke, L. and Tech. Rev. "Duke Law & Technology Review." 20 November 2002. Music Piracy and the Audio Home Recording Act. iBRIEF/Media & Communications. 20 February 2008 . Holton, Kate. Music Firms Launch Legal File Sharing; Industry Shifts to Carrot from the Stick Approach; [ONT Edition]. News. Toronto, Ontario: Toronto Star, 2008. Mark, Roy. "New Induce Act Prompts Old Complaints: Critics Claim the Bill Will Open Digital Music Player Makers to Copyright Infringement Liability." News. 2004. "Princeton University." 2008. Office fo the General Council: The Law - The Constitutional Basis of Copyright Protection. 20 February 2008 . "QTRAX." 2008. Features. 20 February 2008 . Restivo, Kevin. Tougher Law on Copyright Wanted, Poll Finds; [National Edition]. News. Don Mills, Ontario: National Post, 2005. Thompson, Robert. Australia Wants to Shake up Kazaa's Island Paradise; [National Edition]. News. Don Mills, Ontario: National Post, 2004. Tyson, Jeff. "How Stuff Works.com." n.d. How Napster Worked. 20 february 2008 . "U.S. Copyright Office." 2003. Copyright Law of the United States and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code (Chapter 10). United States Copyright Office Library of Congress. 20 February 2008 . Weitzner, Daniel J. "The Neutral Internet: An Information Architechture for Open Societies." 2006. Read More