File Sharing Software essays

File Sharing Software essays One of the most controversial technological innovations of the past decade or more, file sharing software applications have transformed the ways people view intellectual property. In fact, intellectual property has only recently been a subject of popular debate, since the newsworthy demise of Napster. With the advent of the Internet and subsequent software developments, computer users worldwide have been able to upload, download, and share files, many of which contain copyrighted material. In some ways, this type of file sharing seems to fall under the "fair use" clauses in copyright laws, which dictate that individual consumers are free to make a few personal copies of material for limited use. However, file sharing software calls into question the extent of "fair use" because potentially millions of people could have access to one copyrighted file. File sharing therefore raises a host of ethical and legal conundrums. First, the creators of the copyrighted material: musicians, writers, or software engineers, are potentially losing money. After all, they are receiving no revenues from the freely distributed materials. On the other hand, sharing files via the Internet may not be damaging creative professionals as much as we think. File sharing applications and the compressed material that is being shared is imperfect: MP3 files will never approach CD quality sound and will never come replete with the glossy books or other presentation material that a store-bought product contains. Moreover, most music connoisseurs don't mind forking over a few bucks to support their favorite artists. Similarly, pirated software is unusable much of the time, as the "cracks" don't always work and the software itself comes with glitches due to the reproduction process. In general, file sharing is a fun and exciting technological development but poses little actual threat to professionals who rely on intel...