Quick Internet Piracy Overview

Background

Internet piracy is considered the most important issue facing the enforcement of copyright laws today. Media companies, particularly those which specialize in films and music, have been strongly affected by the ease in digital downloading which the Internet allows even for users relatively lacking in technical expertise.

A common such means for digital downloading exists in the form of peer-to-peer services, though more sophisticated users may attempt to directly hack into other computers. Operators of services allowing downloading may also be liable for prosecution. In the United States, such actions have been prohibited since the 1976 No Electronic Theft Act.

P2P Sharing

BitTorrent involves illegally download copyrighted files, such as motion pictures, music recordings and other works. This has caught the attention of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America, who have placed lawsuits in the laps of many BitTorrent websites which support the piracy of copyrighted work. BitTorrent, Inc., the founders of BitTorrent protocol, has established a firm copyright infringement policy to help combat the pirating of copyrighted works of authorship.

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