Internet Copyright Laws
Kevin Kearney
May 4, 2003
MGT 251 / Extra Credit
Internet Copyright Laws
A student comes home to his dorm at the University of Scranton after a rough day of classes. With the quick internet connection provided on the school's network, the student makes a few clicks and logs into Morpheus, a program that enables music fans to download free music. Within a few minutes he is on his way to owning an unlimited amount of songs at no cost. Everything this student is doing is legal, right? Wrong. The downloaded music from the internet is copyrighted material.
Today's internet is considered an "information superhighway," a device where anything from music, books, programs and information can be shared worldwide. Since billions of people have the ability to access the internet, the content of the internet can be difficult to regulate. One controversy which has risen because people can transmit and share information broadly via the internet is that of copyright infringement. Arguments over the rights to property on the internet have been heated. For example, Napster
(similar to Morpheus) was sued for providing software that enabled internet users to download music at no cost. Since the internet is a device that is used worldwide, copyright laws should exist to protect people who own copyrights so their civil liberties are not infringed upon.
Because the internet is sometimes considered unregulated, users often assume that the law does not apply to its use. Widespread misuse of people's intellectual property via the internet occurs because of this belief, though anyone can access the internet. Since the
Kearney 2 number of people who have the ability to access the internet is so high, laws that are made to protect people's publications in other media should also apply to protect them on the internet.
Copyrights that protect products can sometimes be confusing to understand. The simplest way to identify copyright
May 4, 2003
MGT 251 / Extra Credit
Internet Copyright Laws
A student comes home to his dorm at the University of Scranton after a rough day of classes. With the quick internet connection provided on the school's network, the student makes a few clicks and logs into Morpheus, a program that enables music fans to download free music. Within a few minutes he is on his way to owning an unlimited amount of songs at no cost. Everything this student is doing is legal, right? Wrong. The downloaded music from the internet is copyrighted material.
Today's internet is considered an "information superhighway," a device where anything from music, books, programs and information can be shared worldwide. Since billions of people have the ability to access the internet, the content of the internet can be difficult to regulate. One controversy which has risen because people can transmit and share information broadly via the internet is that of copyright infringement. Arguments over the rights to property on the internet have been heated. For example, Napster
(similar to Morpheus) was sued for providing software that enabled internet users to download music at no cost. Since the internet is a device that is used worldwide, copyright laws should exist to protect people who own copyrights so their civil liberties are not infringed upon.
Because the internet is sometimes considered unregulated, users often assume that the law does not apply to its use. Widespread misuse of people's intellectual property via the internet occurs because of this belief, though anyone can access the internet. Since the
Kearney 2 number of people who have the ability to access the internet is so high, laws that are made to protect people's publications in other media should also apply to protect them on the internet.
Copyrights that protect products can sometimes be confusing to understand. The simplest way to identify copyright
Bibliography: Knowledge and Identity in the Electronic Age. Richard Fearer; McGraw-Hill, 1998. 124 131. Who owns digital works. Scientific American Publication. Ann Okerson; October 13, 2002. 37-41.