About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

18 Tex. Wesleyan L. Rev. 309 (2011-2012)
Internet Piracy: Is Protecting Intellectual Property Worth Government Censorship

handle is hein.journals/twlr18 and id is 313 raw text is: INTERNET PIRACY: IS PROTECTING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY WORTH GOVERNMENT CENSORSHIP? By: Grace Espinosa ABSTRACT Intellectual property law has struggled to keep up with new technologies and the issues posed by new mediums of communication. With the rise of the Internet, digital piracy has led to millions of dollars worth of losses in Ameri- can intellectual property. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA ) was intended to address some of the problems related to online infringement; however, at the time the DMCA was drafted, the legislature did not foresee that peer-to-peer file sharing software would give millions of users instant ille- gal access to copyrighted works. In response to lobbying for an expansion of copyright protection, the Senate introduced the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act. The Act will give the Attorney General the power to bring an action against websites dedicated to online infringement. If the Attorney General is successful, the court may issue an order to internet service providers to block access to the infringing site, to financial institutions to stop providing online payment systems to infringing sites, and to online advertisers to prevent them from purchasing ad space on the infringing web- site. Additionally, the Act will require Internet service providers to block all access to foreign infringing web pages from within the United States. Proponents of the Act are certain that it will help decrease the prevalence of online infringement; however, critics of the Act argue that it is overly broad and will trample over free speech. This Comment discusses the history of modern copyright law, including the rise of digital piracy, and the implications of the proposed Intellectual Property Act. TABLE OF CONTENTS I. INTRODUCTION.......................................... 310 A. What is Online Piracy? ................ ........ 311 B. The Rise of Digital Piracy ...................... 312 C. How p2p File Sharing Really Works .............. 312 II. EvOLUTION OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ............... 314 A. A Brief History of Copyright Law ................ 314 B. International Copyright Law .............. ...... 316 1. The Berne Convention ............ ......... 316 2. Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property ..... ........................ 317 III. CURRENT APPROACH TO DIGITAL COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT.......................................... 317 A. The United States Code ... .................... 317 B. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act ............ 318 C. Remedies for Copyright Infringement ............. 320 D. Limitations on Copyright Protection .............. 320 309

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most