File Sharing Is Wrong And Illegal

            The reproduction or distribution of 10 or more copies of 1 or more copyrighted works which have a total retail value of $2,500 or more constitutes a felony, with a maximum sentence of three years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000. If a file sharer were to be convicted on a felony count this is the maximum charge the felon would face. This is according to the No Electronic Theft Act also known as "NET." Copyright laws were written long before electronic file-sharing was introduced to the media world. Naturally with changing ideals and technology laws have the ability to be amended and new ones created to protect the parties involved. File sharing has become increasingly popular since the introduction of Napster, which 40 million took part. What is file sharing you may be asking yourself, if you don't already know. File sharing is the use to software which enables users of the same software to retrieve files from your computer that you have placed in a "share" folder. Music seems to be at the center of this file sharing frenzy but however it is not limited to music. File Sharing has spilled over into movies, programs, pictures, etc. For this essay I will concentrate solely on music and how file sharing is illegal according to copyright laws that have been amended to protect digital music, which is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. However, we first need to establish a few things before we move on to how file sharing is an illegal act.
             To get a better understanding of how file sharing is illegal we need to understand what exactly a copyright is. Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of the copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following: reproduce the work in copies or phonerecords, produce derivative works based upon the work, distribute copies or phonerecords, and perform the work publicly.