Piracy is a term used to describe acts of copyright infringement involving the unauthorized copying and distribution of copyrighted works.
that involve the unauthorized copying and distribution of works in copyright for financial gain.[1] The word "piracy" is also used as a blanket term for any form of digital copyright infringement, regardless of scale or intent to profit, and particularly in reference to peer-to-peer file sharing.
The use of the term "piracy", as well as si
Etymology
editThe practice of labelling the infringement of exclusive rights in creative works as "piracy" predates statutory copyright law. Prior to the Statute of Anne in 1710, the Stationers' Company of London in 1557, received a Royal Charter giving the company a monopoly on publication and tasking it with enforcing the charter. Those who violated the charter were labelled pirates as early as 1603.[2] The Article 12 of the 1886 Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works uses the term "piracy" in relation to copyright infringement, stating that "Pirated works may be seized on importation into those countries of the Union where the original work enjoys legal protection."[1] Article 61 of the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) requires criminal procedures and penalties in cases of "willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale."[3] Piracy traditionally refers to acts of copyright infringement intentionally committed for financial gain, though more recently, copyright holders have described online copyright infringement, particularly in relation to peer-to-peer file sharing networks and online file storage services, as "piracy."[1][4]
Despite being a common definition, the use of the terms "piracy", "theft", and their variations to describe these activities have been criticized for being inaccurate. The words, per their traditional definition, imply that a tangible property is no longer in the possession of its owner.[5] In copyright law, infringement refers to instances of a person or entity violating one of the exclusive rights of the copyright holder without authorization.[6] Courts have distinguished between copyright infringement and theft. For instance, the United States Supreme Court held in Dowling v. United States (1985) that bootleg phonorecords did not constitute stolen property. Instead, "interference with copyright does not easily equate with theft, conversion, or fraud. The Copyright Act even employs a separate term of art to define one who misappropriates a copyright: '[...] an infringer of the copyright.'" The court said that in the case of copyright infringement, the province guaranteed to the copyright holder by copyright law – certain exclusive rights – is invaded, but no control, physical or otherwise, is taken over the copyright, nor is the copyright holder wholly deprived of using the copyrighted work or exercising the exclusive rights held.[7]
Richard Stallman and the GNU Project have criticized the use of the word "piracy" in these situations, saying that publishers use the word to refer to "copying they don't approve of" and that "[publishers] imply that it is ethically equivalent to attacking ships on the high seas, kidnapping and murdering the people on them."[8] This position was supported by the judge in the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) lawsuit against file hosting service Hotfile, who barred the association's lawyers from using the terms "piracy," "stealing," "theft," or derivatives, in their jury testimony because they were pejoratives. The MPAA objected to the ban, arguing that the word "piracy" had become a common term "often used in court decisions, statutes, and everyday speech" to refer to activities of this nature. On the other hand, lawyers representing Hotfile defended the decision, stating that there was "no evidence that the Defendants (or Hotfile’s founders) are 'pirates' or 'thieves,' nor is there evidence that they were 'stealing' or engaged in 'piracy' or 'theft'."[4] Australian Minister of Communications Malcolm Turnbull also supports the position that digital piracy constitutes theft, equating it to shoplifting.[9]
By industry
editMusic
editPreviously confined to platforms such as IRC and Usenet, the digital piracy of music was popularized in the 1990's by the file-sharing service Napster; at its peak, the service had over 80 million registered users.[10]
Music piracy has decreased in recent years due to the growth of legal options for purchasing or streaming music online. In 2012, global revenue for the recorded music increased by 0.3%—the first rise since 1999, credited to online music sales, and the advent of subscription-based and advertising-supported on-demand music streaming services such as Pandora Radio and Spotify.[11] In a survey by NPD Group, users felt that these legal options were easier to use than file-sharing services, and did not have the security risks (such as exposure to malware). In 2015, subscription-based streaming services overtook digital music stores as the largest source of revenue to the United States' music industry. As of 2012, only 1 in 10 users had pirated music online, as opposed to 1 in 5 in 2005.[12][13]
References
edit- ^ a b c Panethiere, Darrell (July–September 2005). "The Persistence of Piracy: The Consequences for Creativity, for Culture, and for Sustainable Development" (PDF). UNESCO e-Copyright Bulletin. p. 2.
- ^ T. Dekker. Wonderfull Yeare, 1603, reprinted by University of Oregon
- ^ Correa, Carlos Maria; Li, Xuan (2009). and source=gbs_navlinks_s Intellectual property enforcement: international perspectives. Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 208. ISBN 978-1-84844-663-2.
{{cite book}}: Check|url=value (help) - ^ a b "Judge: MPAA can't call Hotfile founders "pirates" or "thieves" at trial". Ars Technica. Conde Nast. December 2, 2013. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ "Digital piracy wrong but not 'theft,' professor says". Deseret News. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ Clough, Jonathan (2010). Principles of Cybercrime. Cambridge University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-521-72812-6.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Dowlingwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Stallman, Richard. "Confusing Words and Phrases That Are Worth Avoiding". Free Software, Free Society: The Selected Essays of Richard M. Stallman. Free Software Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 May 2010. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ "Piracy is theft but content owners need to up their game: Turnbull". ZDNet. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
- ^ Gowan, Michael (2002-05-18). "Requiem for Napster". Pcworld.com. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
- ^ Peckham, Matt (19 March 2014). "13 Streaming Music Services Compared by Price, Quality, Catalog Size and More". Time.
- ^ Luckerson, Victor (18 February 2013). "Revenue Up, Piracy Down: Has the Music Industry Finally Turned a Corner?". Time. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
- ^ "U.S. Recording Industry Sees Slight Uptick in Revenue Last Year, Streaming Dominates Digital". Billboard. Retrieved 26 March 2016.