Why Is Piracy Wrong

Piracy, is it morally wrong, or right? Through our recent history there have been a rise in the peer-to-peer sharing programs and the availability of many types of media on the internet being available and free. In order to understand and gain knowledge on this issue, we can apply some universal moral theories which include the Kantian, Utilitarian, and Rights ethics. With how technology has advanced, the internet has become easier to get access to. Most of these users participate in file-sharing networks via peer-to-peer. These individuals believe what they are doing is not wrong, but instead one of the rights they have as a consumer of these media. In contrast, the creators of these media believe that their work is protected property and that any misuse of it takes away the benefits that is received if the media is bought. By buying these media it gives the creators both money and the ability to create
It was in June 1999, when Shawn Fanning released this program that provide free music download to any user anonymously that chose to get Napster. Once it exploded in popularity with millions of users downloading and obtaining hundred of songs daily, it was hit with a lawsuit. The Recording Industry Association filed it against Napster and the Ninth Circuit Court issued an injunction against them as well. This changed the service program to a pay-per-song style service than what it was known for. Today however a new service named Kazaa has risen to the top. It is a similar service to Napster but with a big difference, Kazaa functions solely as a P2P network. This basically means that they are the middle man and just help those that want to share have the ability to. This allows Kazaa not to be targeted by the same type of lawsuits as Napster. Kazaa is however under constant judicial pressure in making sure the content being shared by users is not copyright material. They are still up and running