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.

It should be noted that although such copying is often illegal, this fact should be considered in the context of some additional facts:

• The media industry often played a major part in both the wording of the laws in question and in ensuring that those laws were passed by (no-doubt perfectly legal but most un-democratic) financial persuasion of the appropriate officials.
• Certain types of copying are legal, at least within the United States, under the doctrine of Fair Use.
• The media industry often makes no distinction between legal and illegal copying in its efforts to prevent so-called piracy.
• At least one law has been passed in the United States which was supposed to adequately compensate music companies for "illegal copying" of their works, i.e. the tax on all blank burnable CDs labeled for "music" use; the industry continues to fight against copying, and yet this law is still in place. (Can't find the law in question, but see private copying levy [W] and US Code section 17 "No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright ... based on the noncommercial use by a consumer ... for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings." for possible leads.)

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