© 2011 KANE
"Welcome to the Evening News, I’m you’re local newscaster Chip Matthews. Tonight’s lead story is all about illegal downloading and piracy ."
"Illegal downloading and piracy on the Internet has become the number one way for people to access files. But have you ever actually wondered why they call it piracy? Well, the things that you download, for example, books, movies, music, software, etc. are called intellectual property. These intellectual properties can be protected by copyright, trademark, or patent which are given by the government and prove that the property belongs to someone."
"Piracy and illegal downloading is the theft of this intellectual property - in other words stealing what doesn’t belong to you. Even if you bought the property. Most of these properties have fine print that may only let you make one copy, or download onto a certain number of machines. Going beyond these agreements is piracy. You must also be very careful when searching the web because the Internet is so large it is difficult to confirm a copyright. So take your time and research what you are trying to download."
"Now, if piracy and illegal downloading is theft of intellectual property , what are the music industry and the government doing to put a stop to this theft? Websites such as Pandora, Youtube, Rhapsody, and Grooveshark pay the artists using the money they recive from people and companies that advertise on their websites, this has helped the problem, but it doesn’t stop the problem. The fact is CD sales and sales on Itunes have dropped since 2004. Countries like South Korea, Taiwan, and France have put laws into place that cut off the Internet connections of those found guilty of piracy."
"Music executives would like other governments to take on this idea, but they are coming up against civil liberty groups. These groups believe that it is our right to be able to surf the web and that taking that right away is against our rights."
"Another problem the music industry seem to be running into is that it is not just teenagers and college students that are into piracy . ''Housewives, who should be cooking, are burning. It's not like we can go after 80-year-old men or 12-year-old kids. We have to find the right approach,'' says Gerd Gebhardt, the Chairman of the German Phonographic Industry Association."
"Finding a way to stop illegal downloading has been easier said than done. Corporations have been known to sue people for stealing music and other intellectual property , forcing them to pay the sale price of the files downloaded. This approach has worked but has not done much to stop the problem."
"After years of talking it over Internet providers have agreed to an approach to stopping illegal downloading, like South Korea and France Internet providers will find the costumers that are abusing copyright agreements and alert them by e-mail. Warnings will begin as an e-mail, and will increase to slower Internet access and/or blocked web browsing. As the warnings build-up, the customer must show that they understand the warnings, and that they have the chance to fight the charges."
"When dealing with piracy , Internet providers, the music industry, and the government are battling an enemy that is ever changing. File sharing software such as Limewire, Frostwire, and Napster are being created everyday. Even though these software’s give a payment option, they also give an option where you do not have to pay. Making every file that you download from that point onward illegal."
"It’s not just the file sharing software that they have to worry about, but search engines as well. At any given moment anyone in the world can find movies, music, books, etc. just by typing “free download” into a search bar - thousands of downloads are right there at your fingertips."
"Until this this problem can be fixed the war on piracy and illegal downloading will continue on. This has been Chip Matthews reporting, and remember be a safe downloader!"
Information on each image appears below each image, along with a source for the image.
Information from this text was found at the following websites:
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/kids/kidantipiracy04.htmjavascript:mctmp(0);
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/22/business/global/22music.htmljavascript:mctmp(0);