Piracy: Good Thing? Maura Pinto Fortis Institute Mrs. MacDonald March 12, 2012

Piracy: Good Thing?
Throughout the world, there are people who illegally obtain copyrighted material such as, but not limited to, music, movies, and/or software. (wise GEEK, 2010, What is online piracy?, Para 1 ) This is an example of piracy. (wise GEEK, 2010, What is online piracy?, Para 1 ) Piracy is the unauthorized taking, copying, or use of copyrighted materials without permission. (wise GEEK, 2010, What is online piracy?, Para 1 ) This has led to a seemingly endless, ongoing battle to try to end piracy around the world. (wise GEEK. What is online piracy?, 2010, Para 1 ) On average, the software industry loses about $11-12 billion in revenue to software piracy annually (Stair, R., & Reynolds, G., 2009, Principles of Information Systems, Para 1). The biggest offenders of piracy come from Asia, China, and Indonesia (Stair, R., & Reynolds, G., 2009, Principles of Information Systems, Para 1). About $2 billion in piracy losses come from North Americans (Stair, R., & Reynolds, G., 2009, Principles of Information Systems, Para 1). The rate of piracy in the United States is the lowest of any country ( Stair, R., & Reynolds, G., 2009, Principles of Information Systems, Para 1). United States piracy has been relatively constant (at approximately 25 percent) over the past few years (Stair, R., & Reynolds, G., 2009, Principles of Information Systems, Para 1).
The losses suffered through software piracy directly affect the profitability of the software industry.( E-Notes.com, Inc., 2012,Internet Piracy, Para 1) Because of the money lost to pirates, publishers have fewer resources to devote to research and development of new products, have less revenue to justify lowering software prices and are forced to pass these costs on to their customers ( E-Notes.com, Inc., 2012,Internet Piracy, Para 1). Consequently, software publishers, developers, and vendors are taking serious actions to protect their revenues ( E-Notes.com, Inc., 2012,Internet Piracy, Para 1). There are also companies such as RIAA and SIAA which strictly goes after people who have pirated ( E-Notes.com, Inc., 2012,Internet Piracy, Para 1) . This isn’t to say that it’s going to stop you, myself, or others from pirating ( E-Notes.com, Inc., 2012,Internet Piracy, Para 1).
I feel bad for those who do actually get caught (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1).The penalty for getting caught is outrageous for the average American ( (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1).If they enforce jail time then the convicted has no other choices. (Software and Information Industry Association, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1). As for the fines, imposing thousands upon thousands of dollars is really ridiculous (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1).If you get fined $250,000, who in the right mind is going to attempt to pay that? (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1). Let’s say an artist gets 20 cents each time their song is played on the radio, or maybe it costs $5 for the single, well why not charge that rather than $1,000 per song? (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 1)
What about movies? (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 2). Everyone sees the copyright law in the beginning of movies, punishable to 5 years imprisonment and/or $250,000 (Software and Information Industry, 2011, SIAA anti-piracy, Para 2). That’s