SolveYourProblem Article Series: Copyrights
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Copyright Infringement Statistics
Copyright infringement statistics, by most
standards are inflated. Most recent copyright infringement
statistics cite that almost 30 percent of software is pirated
in the United States of America. This means that they think
30 percent of the software on your computer is illegal… they
think we’re all thieves, to an extent.
However, copyright holders have good reason to worry that
we’re violating their rules: the number of suspects referred
to the United States attorneys with an Intellectual Property
lead charge increased twenty six percent in the period between
2002 and 2004 – and there have been studies that show that
this is rising. Copyright infringement statistics are difficult
to come by, but it’s plain to see it’s affecting every aspect
of intellectual copy.
Copyright infringement statistics show that in addition to
software privacy, there are a lot of violations in the music
world. Copyright infringement statistics show that many unsuspecting
people, from college students to thirty-something a professional,
download music on a consistent basis, and often it’s not downloaded
legally. Often times, someone will download a song off a MySpace
or YouTube page, without giving thought to who really owns
the copyright and if it’s legal for them to have it.
Copyright infringement statistics, brought to us by the music
recording industry, would have us believe that online infringement
is seriously hurting the recording industry. A sensible person,
however, would realize that with the abundance of MP3 sales
sites that this will turn quickly and recording giants will
see the huge profits available online. It’s already begun,
you see, we have yet to see the impact of online music sales,
and how it will increase revenue. I’m sure, with the huge talent
pool at their disposal, the media giants will find a way to
monetize the internet to their fullest advantage.
Copyright infringement statistics also show that many people
are downloading games off the internet. With the litany of
games available to us – from complete alternate worlds such
as World of Warcraft to the more mainstream “The Sims” series,
people are clamoring for PC games – and for good reason. They’re
fun, intelligent games that play on a system everyone has –
a computer. Because of this, people are always looking for
new games to play and download, and they may download a game
without knowing that it’s not ‘freeware’ (as many internet
games are).
In addition to computer games, copyright infringement statistics
also show that movies are downloaded in abundance on the internet.
Many peer to peer file distribution sites and programs (such
as bit torrent or Kazaa) allow for the transfer of very large
files, and they’re easy to find online. Using a tool provided
by one of many suppliers, users can search for any item they
like – and, of course, the system is abused and people download
copyrighted movies and entire DVDs instead of publicly available
works.
Copyright infringement also branches into written works, such
as articles, books, poems, etc. Many times, a student will
copy a paragraph or two without realizing the implications
of such copying. While they may think of it as ‘borrowing’,
if it’s used on a grander scale, the person could be opening
themselves up to a large court fight, especially if it’s used
commercially.
As you can see, copyright infringement statistics show us
that many people are using copyrighted works illegally. Do
your best diligence when using another’s work – and ask for
permission every time you want to use something that you haven’t
created. Chances are, if you just ask the question up front
you’ll save yourself from becoming another copyright infringement
statistic and save yourself from a major lawsuit.
# # # # # SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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