Illegal Downloading of Movies
The rise in electronic piracy is causing a great deal of concern to many industries and governments. As a result many countries are introducing new laws to try and deter this increase. The Digital Economy Act was brought out by the British Government in 2010. The intention of this act was to “make provision about the online infringement of copyright and about penalties for infringement of copyright and performers’ rights; …” This declaration is, on the whole, difficult to understand if one has not had any legal training. So what is the act really saying? It is stipulating that anyone caught downloading other people’s material without permission will be punished. This is very good in principle: electronic stealing will be punished. But how will anyone find out who is stealing? And what punishments can they impose? And if you don’t punish people for committing a crime then what is the point of classifying these actions as a crime? These are some of the basic difficulties that are besetting the movie industry today.