Downloading (Piracy) files, Music, movies etc. is immoral or wrong Essay

Downloading (Piracy) files, Music, movies etc. is immoral or wrong - Essay Example File – sharers distribute material free of cost to others (Piracy). However, their activity is classified as piracy and it is illegal. It is only the copyright owners who have the sole right to sell or distribute their copyrighted material. This right is infringed when such material is exchanged freely. As such, it is an act of piracy; because, such free exchange prevents copyright owners from regulating the sale and distribution of their copyrighted material (Piracy). Consequently, piracy is immoral. Software piracy is increasing at a more rapid pace than the growth of the software industry. Piracy is unethical and equivalent to stealing a commodity from a shop. (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). The only difference is that shoplifters are arrested and punished immediately, whereas pirates are never arrested. The new breed of pirates on the Internet use a technology called file – sharing technology. They justify their actions, by stating that they do not distribute pirated software for making profits or for acquiring any financial advantage. Consequently, they claim that they should not be termed pirates or subjected to punishment (Legal, Ethical & Social Issues). They argue that they distribute copyrighted software free; which makes it very difficult, to prosecute and punish them under the provisions of law. File – sharers distribute music files to other members. There are several tools on the Internet such as Kazaa, Grokster, and Gnutella, which are file – sharing programs. The music is distributed in the MP3 format. With the introduction of broadband, the internet gained speed and bandwidth. This has permitted file - sharers to distribute movies and television programs (Piracy). File sharing has become a commonly practiced form of piracy on the Internet. It is illegal and subject to prosecution on charges of infringement of copyright. Pirated software is