Digital Piracy is any form of unauthorized or illegal copying of data. The most common form of digital piracy is the downloading of media files, typically music or movies, often from P2P network clients like Kazaa or LimeWire, or from Torrent sites like The Pirate Bay with BitTorrent or similar applications.
In May 2009, France passed a controversial law to discourage digital piracy. Passing on a vote of 296 to 233, France passed legislation that would allow an Internet service provider to cut the Internet connections of users caught sharing copyrighted materials after three strikes. The law contradicts a recently passed European Union law that bars European Union countries from depriving a user of Internet access without a court order.CBC.ca: France passes controversial anti-piracy bill (May 12, 2009)
More Digital Piracy
Technically, digital piracy also includes unauthorized copying of physical media like DVDs and CDs. Major records labels have made various attempts to curb this kind of piracy, most notably by including DRM software hidden on their CDs. There has also been a large and highly public campaign against digital piracy by the RIAA and the MPAA which has consisted of a well-funded media campaign and a series of lawsuits against private individuals.
References
Fast Facts
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Digital piracy is any form of unauthorized or illegal copying of dataRIAA: Piracy: Online and On The Street
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Digital piracy is often done through "file-sharing" websites like Kazaa or LimeWireRIAA: Piracy: Online and On The Street
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"Sharing" copyrighted files is illegal and a form of digital piracyRIAA: Piracy: Online and On The Street
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A study conducted by the Institute for Policy Innovation estimates piracy losses per year to be $12.5 billion of economic losses, 71, 060 U.S. jobs lost, a loss of $2.7 billion in workers' earnings, a loss of $422 million in tax revenue, $291 million in personal income tax and $131 million in lost corporate income taxesRIAA: Piracy: Online and On The Street
