Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
4
Intellectual
Property
Friends share all things.
—- PYTHAGORAS
Today's pirates operate not on the high seas but on the Internet.
—- RECORDING INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
At a Bowling for Soup concert, the band made up a song onstage. Singer Jaret Reddick
says, “That thing was on YouTube before I even got back home from the show” [1]. Do
entertainers have the right to control who sees and hears a performance of their music?
About 40 percent of software installed on personal computers worldwide and about
80 percent of software in China is obtained illegally [2]. Is it fair for some people to pay
full price for software when so many others are getting the same programs for little or
no money?
A survey of digital music collections of young American adults aged 18-29 revealed
that on average 22 percent of the files were downloaded for free and another 22 percent
were copied from friends or family members [3]. Several years ago the Recording Indus-
try Association of America (RIAA) identified egregious file sharers, sent each of them
a letter warning of an impending lawsuit, and gave them the opportunity to settle out
of court, usually by paying between $3,000 and $5,000 [4]. Boston University graduate
