Nhu Pham
Thomas
Comp I
24 April 2014
Illegal Downloading
Have you ever enjoyed any famous movies for free or have you ever listened to any songs that singers have not introduced yet? A large percentage of people who use the internet have downloaded music or movies. Now, that the internet is more and more popular, people copy created works more easily. According to “Copyright and The Internet”, Kenneth Jost mentions that, “Each technological breakthrough made it less and less expensive to copy creative works with greater and greater fidelity to the original”(Jost). While a lot of the content on the Internet is free to download, that does not mean it is legal. What is illegal downloading? Illegal downloading is downloading without paying or obtaining permission for files that people do not have the right to use from the Internet. Illegal downloading is one of the ways that many people use to enjoy others’ property. Therefore, those who knowingly download and steal intellectual property should be punished with prison time because they destroy the profit of artists and producers, reduce the motivation of artists to create new property, and hurt the reputation of the Internet as a legitimate source of advertising.
First, people who illegally download need to be punished because they hurt the profit of creative people. The music industry is one in which illegal downloading has had terrible effects. New artists especially work very hard to write a song or lyrics, and they hope to sell their creation and build a music career. However, if someone steals the song from the internet, those artists will never get a chance to be famous. Besides, illegal downloading reduces amount of recorded music produced by many singers. When people are stealing the song by illegally downloading it, people are taking money from the artists that the recognition and money deserve. Too many