Dimabayao 1

Lavinia Dimabayao
Mr. McNamee
Communication Media
March 2, 2015
Legal File Sharing
File sharing is legal. It is different from copyright. It is not theft because theft involves
stealing someones property. There are two types of file sharing, peer to peer file sharing, and file
sync and sharing services. Peer to peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing digital media
using peer to peer networking technology. File synchronization is the process of ensuring that
computer files in two or more locations are updated with certain rules. Both of them do not
involve theft which is legal.
File sharing is illegal when it has unethical procedures. It could sometimes cause
companies to lose sales and reduce its profits. However, many people who cannot afford to pay
for it benefit from them. People do not follow the rules and that is what makes file sharing
illegal. Even though sharing and downloading are part of the modern culture, people should also
be aware of what they are doing.
Some people may see file sharing as illegal, however there are many loopholes to this
statement because of these reasons: File is a public accessible, and can be found through many
file sharing networks, examples of these includes: Email, Peer to Peer File Sharing, File
Synchronization, File Transfer Protocol, floppy disks, and also removable storage devices. There
are many more file sharing applications that people use worldwide and use it often to share or
transfer important information with others. File sharing itself, is not illegal, the content in which
it contains is. Examples of this can be seen through pirated movies, illegally downloaded music,

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and many more. The case in which makes this illegal is the Copyright Law, without the consent
of the owner of the shared material, it is considered illegal. Another argument to prove that File
Sharing is not illegal, it is the fact that File Sharing is not the same thing as Copyright.
People also use file sharing to connect with others. If people are file sharing, a person
will send a copy of a file to another person over the internet. That person would not lose
anything. They both have the copy of the same file. File sharing becomes illegal to other parts of
the world because: people download or share a copyrighted movie, share copyrighted songs
(music) to other people who have not purchased those songs or downloading songs from other
people when you've not purchased that song, share or download computer software (programs,
games, etc.), and download or share a copyrighted TV show or program.
Most P2P usage (which comprises a significant fraction of all file-sharing) is against the
law because it involves the sharing of copyrighted materials without permission from the
copyright owner, usually music (MP3) or movie files, but also TV programs, books and images.
Currently, most complaints are coming from the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), and companies that belong to
those organizations (such as individual record companies or movie studios). Increasingly though,
complaints are coming from television producers, publishers of digital books, and software
vendors. File sharing couldnt be considered ethically wrong. In fact, the collapse of the music
industry might be a good thing, turning art back into art instead of a commodity.

Works Cited:
Peter. "The Ethics of File Sharing." On Philosophy. The Rubric Theme, 4 Dec. 2006. Web.

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<https%3A%2F%2Fonphilosophy.wordpress.com%2F2006%2F12%2F04%2Fthe-ethicsof-file-sharing-2%2F>.

"Ethics of File Sharing." PirateTimes. WordPress and Origin, 04 Sept. 2013. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.
<http://piratetimes.net/ethics-of-file-sharing-the-shallowness-of-most-accusations/>.

"Unauthorized File Sharing: Is It Wrong?" Media Piracy The American Assembly. N.p.,
4 Oct.2012.Web.18 Feb.2015. <http://piracy.americanassembly.org/file-sharingis-it-

wrong/>.

"Is File Sharing or Torrents Illegal or Legal?" Is File Sharing or Torrents Illegal or Legal?
Computer Hope, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <http://www.computerhope.com/issues
/ch001042.htm>.

"File-sharing and Copyright Law." File-sharing and Copyright Law. Stanford University, n.d.
Web. 28 Feb. 2015. <https://acomp.stanford.edu/info/dmca>.