Music Sharing and Piracy Essay

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Sharing Copyrighted Digital Media Illegally is Like Piracy

Although precise figures are unavailable, the music industry claims that illegal file-sharing practices are costing the industry billions of dollars in lost revenues each year (Gunter 32). Advocates of unlimited file sharing counter that the practice allows consumers to sample music they would not otherwise consider purchasing and that music sales are actually increased by illegal file sharing (Gunter 32). Moreover, illegal file-sharing practices are said to have prompted the music industry to begin offering single songs, typically for 99 cents each, rather than forcing consumers to purchase an entire album (Gunter 33).

Notwithstanding these assertions to the contrary, though, many authorities agree that illegal peer-to-peer file-sharing practices are tantamount to high seas piracy, and have resulted in sharply diminished sales of music recordings in the United States and abroad (Oulett 108). According to the definition provided by Black's Law Dictionary, piracy is "those acts of robbery and depredation upon the high seas which, if committed on land, would have amounted to a felony. Whoever on the high seas commits the crime of piracy as defined by the law of nations . . . shall be imprisoned for life" (1148).

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When applied to the illegal sharing of music files, the definition of piracy means, "The illegal reprinting or reproduction of copyrighted matter or to unlawful plagiarism from it, and similarly, to the unlawful reproduction or distribution of property protected by laws" (Black's 1148). Although the legal definition of piracy distinguishes between acts committed on the high seas and those committed on land, the common denominator of both definitions involves illegal acts that unlawfully deprive legitimate owners of their property.

While it is reasonable to suggest that the overwhelming majority of illegal file-sharing practices do not rise to the level of high-seas piracy, the fact remains that domestic and international laws are being broken and rightful owners are being robbed, albeit by digital means rather than at the point of a sword or cannon (Leeson 63). Increasingly harsh laws against piracy emerged during the late 17th to early 18th centuries in response to the more than 10,000 pirates who were active during this period (Fitzhugh 10). Although historians disagree concerning the extent to which pirates actually managed to accumulate the fabulous treasure that is associated with them, most agree that they were men of.....

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