File sharers walk the plank
By Vinod Narayan, contributing writer
Posted on September 18, 2006

What started out in the mid-1990s as MP3s being uploaded on Web sites with free Web space eventually evolved into the global phenomenon of peer-to-peer software downloads. This was marked by the first network that facilitated this type of practice, Napster. From Napster came the formation of many other filesharing programs that exist today such as Kazaa, Grokster, Morpheus, EDonkey and Limewire, among others.

Through the creation of these various programs, file-sharing has become one of the easiest forms of transferring and acquiring music and movies. Some contend that though this process is easy, it does not make it right.

Senior Ben Rosenberger said, “It is not OK to download music just because it is easy. Musical artists publishing CDs is just like authors publishing books. So why do we only steal music?”

According to University of Richmond School of Law, more than one-third of college students ranging from ages 18 to 24 download music illegally. Their reason: 74 percent believe it helps aspiring musicians and more importantly to many students, it saves them a lot of money.

The Business Software Alliance of America conducted a study that found more than two-thirds of college students did not find it unethical to download and share copyrighted files. Fifty-two percent of people in the workplace agreed with this practice. It also found 60 percent of students have rarely or never paid for the commercial software programs they use.

“Downloading is something I like,” freshman Brendan Clasbey said. “Who’s going to pay $20 for a 14-track CD? Nobody.” Many of these students are unaware of the dangers of downloading. Fifty-five percent of students are not familiar with the policies laid down by their university regarding downloading files.

One of the most famous people to speak out against illegal downloading is Sen. Orrin Hatch. As the author of the PIRATE Act (Protecting Intellectual Rights and Theft Expropriation Act), the Republican from Utah is a proponent of eliminating illegal downloading for good.    

“While I have fought the rampant piracy of copyrighted music,” Hatch said, “I have also encouraged music companies to provide a legal means to meet this market demand. My goal has always been to find a reasonable balance between the rights of creators and innovators and the needs of consumers.”

Julia Sweeney, a member of the Center for Instructional Technology at JMU, has worked with the Intellectual Property Committee and said that though some forms of file sharing are bad, others methods are not harmful to the person or to the industry.

“Activities like buying an album from iTunes and then sharing the music seems like a communal activity,” Sweeney said. “As long as [the artist] gives permission, I don’t mind people using it.”

“Overall, though, I still don’t think it is OK to copy DVDs or CDs or other works that a person created and would make money on otherwise. For these artists, the sale of their work is their livelihood.”

Hatch cited safety concerns as another reason to stop illegal downloads. “Allowing your children to illegally download a CD is actually worse than shoplifting from a record store,” he said. “It’s like them shoplifting and then leaving your credit cards and house keys behind. Anyone who finds them can steal your identity, ruin your credit, rummage through your personal information and expose you to civil and criminal liability.”