P2P Networks: Online Piracy of Music, Films and Computer Software

440-461With the aid of P2P technology, the vast and ever growing cyber populace has the competence of unauthorized sharing of digitized copyrighted works such as music, films and computer software without bothering to pay for them. This unauthorized sharing of copyrighted works, which is termed as online piracy, has led to massive distribution and exchange of valuable stuff, which was hitherto unknown on such a scale and magnitude. When such piracy takes place at the instance of ordinary people, copyright law is once again challenged by the latest in the series of technological innovations, i.e., digital and communications technology. In an environment where the producer-middleman-consumer chain has reached a fragile point, it becomes imperative to find a legal solution to promote creative activity in an organized manner, which secures the interests of both producers and consumers. Towards this end, this paper focuses on the sharing of works through various P2P networks such as Napster, Gnutella and Kazaa and tries to explore their social, economic and legal implications