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Mp3S And Copyright Infringement

MP3s and Copyright Infringement
The downloading of MP3s is one of the most controversial issues pertaining to the popular usage of the Internet. The Internet and its abusive ability to distribute MP3's & free music effectively & easily is a controversial issue that has created a huge stir in the music industry. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is furious at the fact that millions of people around the world are downloading MP3s off the Internet, and creating their own music CDs. They believe that this is the main cause of the decrease in album sales of the past few years. CD sales fell five percent in 2001. (Powel 2003) Michael Green, president of National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, made a statement at the 2002 Grammy Awards. He warned of a worldwide threat, pervasive, out of control, and oh so criminal. He implored the audience to embrace this life and death issue. He was talking about the illegal downloading of music on the Internet. (Hoffman 2001)
If you look at the back of a CD you will find a copyright number and date. Copyright is defined as the exclusive right to publication, production, or sale of the rights to a musical work. It also says the period of copyright in the United States is twenty-eight years and a chance for renewal for another twenty-eight years. (Wikipedia 2006) Sharing a multitude of MP3s on one program would constitute a copyright infringement. Because it is a federal law, copyright laws pertain to every person in the United States. People who download copyrighted materials are stealing. But there are conflicting signals about file sharing. There has been confusion about what is allowed under copyright law and what is not. Some people don't obey laws they don't believe in. They try to comply with what they believe the law to say. If they don't believe the law says what it in fact does say, they won't obey it. The fundamental base of copyright law has been the attempt to find a balance...