Media piracy

Overview

Media piracy, more frequently referred to by more specific terms such as software piracy, music piracy, and movie piracy, refers both to:

• The practice of illegally copying a source work (software, music, movie, or other)
• The idea that such copying is morally equivalent to (traditional) piracy, which is presumed to refer both mass theft of valuables and tangible harm to the copyright holder

There seems to be a rising tide of opinion that calling such copying "piracy" or even "theft" is a serious overstatement of the situation, as media "pirates" do not typically brandish cutlasses, board oceangoing vessels without permission, or deprive owners of the use of their belongings (much less their lives) – although some of them do own parrots.

Related Pages

• Copyright holders often employ various methods of copy protection to physically prevent (what they believe to be) media piracy, i.e. illegal copying of their intellectual property.

Links

Organizations

• Organizations pursuing piracy claims:
  • Business Software Alliance (BSA)
  • RIAA Lawsuits: index to RIAA litigation
  • Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)
• Lawyers defending against piracy charges:
  • Scott & Scott
    • Defending Your Business Against the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA)
    • Defending Your Business Against the Business Software Alliance (BSA)

Discussion

• TruthMapping: Copyright infringement is not theft