Module Summary: Digital Piracy And The Music Industry

Meghan Riley
Module 2 Summary

From scribes to search engines, ownership and legal enforcement have long been intertwined and often exist in a twilight zone of perpetual profiteering. The many legal cases and thought dialogs in Module 2 suggest that the Internet is a breeding ground for collecting and distributing all forms of copyrighted information. Enforcement of these

The invention of Napster and mp3 file sharing turned the music industry sideways. Suddenly digital piracy was easier and more widespread than stealing a stick of gum. In many ways this ‘for the people’ mentality of providing the world access to free music—albeit illegal—was the first step in assuming thoughtful and rightful digital music sharing. Today that case is still …show more content…
Fair use is a limitation on this right. Fair use allows people other than the copyright owner to copy part or, in some circumstances, all of a copyrighted work, even where the copyright holder has not given permission or objects.

Copyright law embodies a bargain. It gives copyright holders a set of exclusive rights for a limited time period as an incentive to create works that ultimately enrich society as a whole. In exchange for this limited monopoly, creators enrich society by, hopefully, contributing to the growth of science, education and the arts.

However, copyright law does not give copyright holders complete control of their works. Copyrighted works move into "the public domain" and are available for unlimited use by the public when the copyright term expires (see Public Domain FAQ). But even before works enter the public domain, the public is free to make "fair uses" of copyrighted …show more content…
Determining fair use is decided by courts on a case-by-case basis weighing the four factors listed in section 107 of the Copyright Act.
Those factors are:
1. The purpose and character of the use of copyrighted work
• Transformative quality - Is the new work the same as the copyrighted work, or have you transformed the original work, using it in a new and different way?
• Commercial or noncommercial - Will you make money from the new work, or is it intended for nonprofit, educational, or personal purposes? Commercial uses can still be fair uses, but courts are more likely to find fair use where the use is for noncommercial purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
A particular use is more likely to be considered fair when the copied work is factual rather than creative.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
How much of the copyrighted work did you use in the new work? Copying nearly all of the original work, or copying its "heart," may weigh against fair use. But "how much is too much" depends on the purpose of the second use. Parodies, for example, may need to make extensive use of an original work to get the point

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Module Summary: Digital Piracy And The Music Industry

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