Illegal Downloading of Music, Movie and Software Piracy is Unethical - Essay Example

Illegal Downloading of Music, Movie and Software Piracy is Unethical Introduction I believe piracy is immoral, because first, piracy is theft; second, it affects innovation and third, it has a major impact on the US economy. Piracy on the Internet is increasing. It has adversely affected the entire digital industry. The illegal reproduction and distribution of copyrighted material, for monetary gain, constitutes an act of piracy under the traditional definition of this crime. Under this definition, piracy generates profit to its perpetrators. File – sharers on the Internet share pirated material with other members. They usually claim that as they do not make any profits through the file – sharing, they are not pirates. File – sharers distribute material free of cost to others (Piracy). However, their activity is classified as piracy and it is illegal. It is only the copyright owners who have the sole right to sell or distribute their copyrighted material. This right is infringed when such material is exchanged freely. As such, it is an act of piracy; because, such free exchange prevents copyright owners from regulating the sale and distribution of their copyrighted material (Piracy). Consequently, piracy is immoral. Piracy is Theft Software piracy is increasing at a more rapid pace than the growth of the software industry. Piracy is unethical and equivalent to stealing a commodity from a shop. (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). The only difference is that shoplifters are arrested and punished immediately, whereas pirates are never arrested. The new breed of pirates on the Internet use a technology called file – sharing technology. They justify their actions, by stating that they do not distribute pirated software for making profits or for acquiring any financial advantage. Consequently, they claim that they should not be termed pirates or subjected to punishment (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). They argue that they distribute copyrighted software free; which makes it very difficult, to prosecute and punish them under the provisions of law. File – sharers distribute music files to other members. There are several tools on the Internet such as Kazaa, Grokster, and Gnutella, which are file – sharing programs. The music is distributed in the MP3 format. With the introduction of broadband, the internet gained speed and bandwidth. This has permitted file - sharers to distribute movies and television programs (Piracy). File sharing has become a commonly practiced form of piracy on the Internet. It is illegal and subject to prosecution on charges of infringement of copyright. Pirated software is used by many companies and offices. Sharing of software and music is also piracy. However, many people are not aware of this fact. Pirated software is sold at cheaper rates, and many people tend to purchase the lower priced pirated copies of software or music. These individuals contend that they cannot afford to purchase legitimate copyrighted works, because of their much higher cost, which they cannot afford. As such, pirates spread the ideology that companies charge amounts for their software that is not commensurate to their value. They also contend that they are protecting innocent consumers by offering the same work at lower prices (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues).Their argument lacks legal validity and their activities are undoubtedly unethical. An expensive car does not provide anyone with a right to steal it. This rule is also applicable to software. Similarly, not using the software frequently does not give anyone the right to possess it illegally. Software piracy reduces sales, which in turn compels its owner to increase its cost, in order to defray expenses. Ultimately, this burden falls on the genuine user who purchases a licensed copy of the software (The Ethics of Piracy). As such, piracy affects the interests of developers, distributors and genuine users. These are the victims of this crime. Video piracy and signal theft in the broadcasting industry were the chief problems envisaged during the past twenty – five years. The MPAA along with anti-piracy agencies had fought these problems. The present scenario is vastly different from the previous one. The advent of the Internet and advances in technology has aggravated the problem of piracy (Richardson, 2004). This problem is not restricted to a single country or region. Over eighty countries across the world face this problem. In the present digital era, pirates can illegally copy and distribute pirated work over the Internet. Broadband technology provides enormous speeds for transmitting digitized material. According to Viant, a Boston – based consulting firm, nearly 350,000 movies are illegally downloaded from the Internet, on an average, per day. It also estimated that in the near future, this number could reach the one million mark (Richardson, 2004). Thus, the piracy problem is increasing in an unprecedented manner. Writing finis to piracy is very difficult, unless consumers change their attitude towards this pernicious practice. A significant number of people fail to see anything amiss with using illegal software, and there is a tendency to treat this activity casually. The gravity of the situation is not realized and these people do not consider their activity to be equivalent to theft (Better tactics needed to stamp out piracy, 2009). Piracy, per se, deprives copyright owners of their rightful income, while encouraging the growth of illegal activities. Piracy obstructs Innovation Piracy obstructs innovation. Software is a form of information, and the writers of software live on the profits from their work. They have certain rights under copyright law, and they resemble authors who write books and sell them. Similar to the manner in which the latter have the right to sell their books, the former also have sole rights in their works. Piracy infringes these rights and causes loss to the owners of copyrighted works. It has been contended by some persons that information should be free, in accordance with the fundamental rights of freedom of information and expression (The Ethics of Piracy). However, it does not apply to all information. As such, these people believe that they have the right to commit acts of software piracy under the aegis of the First Amendment. However, the First Amendment does not support or encourage illegal activities such as the piracy of copyrighted material. The First Amendment does not cover the distribution of illegal copies of software. Moreover, people argue that the prohibitive cost of licensed software, justifies the use of illegal copies of software. This is also wrong, and falls under the category of piracy (The Ethics of Piracy). There can be no justification for piracy. Exceptions or excuses such as bugs in the software, infrequent use of software, or cost factors do not provide a right to make illegal copies. Since, piracy obstructs innovation; an attempt is made to protect the rights of copyright owners by means of the various international treaties and conventions introduced against software piracy. An instance is the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, which is a branch of the WIPO of the United Nations. The US incorporated this treaty’s provisions in its US Code collection for Copyright Infringement. According to this Code, a willful infringement of copyright by anybody for making profits would be punishable. It also provides certain measures against the reproduction or distribution of pirated material whose value is more than $1,000. Any individual who perpetrates these offenses is liable for punishment under section 2319 of title 18 of the United States Code (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). Furthermore, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) set out copyright standards for the new digital era, in 1996. It adopted two new treaties for this purpose. These new standards are effective tools to fight digital piracy and copyright infringement. The WIPO established exclusive copyrights and prohibited their infringement by implementing technological protection measures (Richardson, 2004). In order to combat piracy, the US incorporated the provisions of the treaties in its Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The treaty came into force on March 6, 2002. The signatories of the WIPO ratified the Copyright Treaty and the Performances and Phonograms Treaty of the WIPO. The provisions of these treaties are in force in all the member states around the world. However, piracy still continues, and chiefly transpires in countries where the protection levels are inadequate (Richardson, 2004). Piracy, irrespective of where it takes place, has a devastating effect on e-commerce. The failure of the authorities to properly address intellectual property infringements has adversely affected copyright owners. Copyright violation is harmful to those who sell legitimate goods, in addition to acting as a deterrent to product improvement. This has the outcome of discouraging local entities from improving their skills (Better tactics needed to stamp out piracy, 2009). The optimal growth of the software industry necessitates the existence of a healthy and innovative culture of software development. Such an exemplary software development environment augurs well for employment and wealth of the nation (McBean, 2005). Major Impact on US Economy Piracy is unethical and criminal, and copyright owners are the unwilling victims of this crime. Software piracy deprives the software industry of their legitimate profits, on which the very survival of the industry depends. So far, the software industry has suffered to tune of billions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands of employees have been deprived of their employment, on account of piracy (The Ethics of Piracy). Software piracy has several socio-economic effects. Software developing companies lose their income, on account of piracy. Moreover, these companies have to spend money for initiating legal action against pirates. Ultimately, these companies attempt to balance their expenditure by reducing the number of their employees. This results in pressure on the nation’s economy. In the US, the rate of piracy has been estimated at 27%, which has affected the country’s economy to a significant extent. These effects were marked in the year 1998, when nearly 25,000 employees lost their jobs. In addition, the nation had lost revenues to the tune of $400 million. Despite these adverse effects, there was little concern to curb software piracy (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). It is perceived by software developers that software piracy causes substantial loss of revenue. In order to preclude such loss, these developers have adopted a number of techniques. Some of these are dissemination of information that software piracy causes widespread harm, protection of electronic copies, conducting surprise audit of businesses, compelling users to obtain installation codes from the vendor, initiation of legal action and the sale of software versions that have less features at a reduced cost (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). These initiatives have met with partial success, because some users have discerned the means for circumventing these measures. In addition, these methods have rendered the task of installing software difficult, and this has served to alienate users. Some installations require the keying in of protracted registration codes, whilst other software requires the user to obtain authorization codes from the vendor (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). Piracy is a social problem, and it is essential to organize campaigns to educate the community about the disadvantages of piracy. Efforts have to be made to make citizens realize that piracy is equivalent to theft. They must be informed of the loss suffered by the software companies and the ultimate economic loss to the nation.If the rate of piracy is reduced by just 10%, it creates nearly two and half million jobs over a period of four years. In addition, such reduction of piracy would provide $70 billion in additional revenue to the government (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). The developing countries have exhibited a modicum of success, on account of these measures. However, these techniques have had considerable effect on piracy in the developed nations. This phenomenal success has been attributed to the better enforcement of copyright laws, effect of surprise audits and exorbitant penalties by the Business Software Alliance that was inaugurated by the larger software vendors to ensure compliance with their end user license agreements (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). A few solutions suggested for reducing such piracy are, first, the cost of the software should be commensurate with the income levels of the region where it is to be sold (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). This measure has the potential to increase revenues, on account of a larger number of legal copies being sold. Second, the national governments should properly implement the extant antitrust legislation and enact new laws, wherever required, so that competition is enhanced. This will reduce the cost of software and thereby make it attractive to procure legal copies (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). The best effect would be obtained if this were to be done in the country where the software is developed. Third, the adoption of a candid approach towards what is being termed as software piracy by software companies, including a cessation of exaggerating the negative effects; providing, at least partial, compensation for the harm caused by their monopolistic practices; and desisting from using highly abrasive and abusive terms like software piracy (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). Fourth, every entity involved in this issue should promote the use of free software. Such software will do away with the need to use illegal software, because it has the same functionality as the licensed software. The use of free or open source software brings about its improvement and innovation. Its applicability increases and this is bound to wean away many more users of illegal software, in the long run (The "Software Piracy" Controversy, 2007). Conclusion Piracy hinders research and development, innovation of new products, and harms the creativity of the producers of intellectual works. Software piracy causes substantial loss of revenue to the music, movie and software industries. As such, piracy influences every sector in society. Software piracy is increasing because its perpetrators can easily remain anonymous. This aspect of software piracy encourages many unscrupulous individuals to continue their crime and escape recognition. Moreover, it is easy to duplicate pirated material and distribute it. Such duplication adds to the heavy losses suffered by the music, movie and software industry. Improvement in technology has engendered corresponding attrition in the rights of copyright owners. Better technology is highly beneficial to the world; unfortunately, it has assisted in the theft of copyrighted material. Protecting intellectual property has emerged as a major challenge for US industries. Intellectual property should be protected by legislation that should behave as an effective deterrent against piracy. Unfortunately, standard laws for the protection of intellectual property are inadequate at the international level. In the absence of uniform protection of intellectual property, the various countries of the world, employ policies that at times are in conflict with the policies of other countries. It is essential for everyone to realize that it is immoral to infringe copyright, irrespective of whether it is a song, a movie or computer software. These rights promote further research and creativity. Therefore, copyright is to be protected from infringement. As such, no one need entertain any doubt regarding the ethicality of such piracy, which is undoubtedly criminal; affects innovativeness and adversely affects the US economy. List of References Better tactics needed to stamp out piracy. (2009, May 9). Retrieved June 11, 2009, from The Nation: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/05/09/opinion/opinion_30102296.php Legal, Ethical & Social Issues. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2009, from http://www.comp.nus.edu.sg/~brina/software_piracy/issues.htm McBean, A. (2005, September - October). A Healthy Local Software Ecosystem Relies on IP Management. Retrieved June 11, 2009, from Thai American Business: http://74.125.153.132/search?q=cache:9rOK4QytwfwJ:www.amchamthailand.org/asp/view_doc.asp%3FDocCID%3D1181+piracy+obstructs+innovation&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk Piracy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 10, 2009, from http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/pctech/child/ethics/piracy.shtml Richardson, B. J. (2004). Intellectual Property Rights Require Greater Protection. In L. K. Egendorf, The Information Revolution. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. The "Software Piracy" Controversy. (2007, February 25). Retrieved June 10, 2009, from The Linux Information Project: http://www.linfo.org/software_piracy.html The Ethics of Piracy. (n.d.). Retrieved June 9, 2009, from http://cse.stanford.edu/class/cs201/projects-99-00/software-piracy/ethical.html Read More