Copyright protects the creators of original works. Without permission, it is illegal to use or reproduce a copyrighted work.

Copyright Protects Creators

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, copyright is a protection provided to “authors of [original works], including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.” If a work is copyrighted, there are several restrictions on what you can do with it, unless you are the author.

The owner of copyrighted material has exclusive rights to the work. The copyright holder can also give others permission to use the work in various ways. For example, Twentieth Century Fox is the copyright holder of The Simpsons, a popular animated TV show. Fox has given various companies permission to create toys, clothing, games, and books based on The Simpsons television series. Without the express permission of Fox, creating a work based on The Simpsons (or even sharing copies of The Simpsons episodes) would violate the copyright.
Unless you have permission, only the person (or entity) who holds the copyright can do the following:

• Reproduce the work
• Create derivatives of the work
• Distribute the work
• Perform the work in public
• Display the work in public
• Play a recording of the work in public

It is illegal to violate the copyright of a work by doing any of the action items listed above without the permission of the copyright holder. When you break the law by doing so, it is called “copyright infringement.”

Copyright Infringement on the Internet

If you download copyrighted material from the Internet without permission from the copyright holder, you are breaking the law.

Most songs and movies available on peer-to-peer file sharing networks like BitTorrent are copyrighted, and most signed artists do not lend permission for their songs to be shared over the Internet, with some exceptions. Nine Inch Nails, for example, released their eighth album, The Slip, as a free download. For those interested in physical media and artwork, the album is also available for purchase on Amazon.

You are not allowed to download songs and movies without permission because copyright prevents you from legally reproducing the work. Likewise, it is against the law to share songs or movies with others because copyright prevents you from distributing the work.

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, if you violate a copyright, you can be sued for “up to $150,000 for each work infringed” and you may be required to pay attorney fees for the other side. Each song or movie you download is considered a separate violation. As you can see, getting sued for illegal downloads can be very costly, which is one reason you should not do it.

Fair Use

There are a few cases where it is acceptable to use a copyrighted work without permission. This is called “fair use” and is typically limited to such things as “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.”

Even when you legally use a copyrighted work through fair use, you are restricted to the amount or extent to which you can copy the original work. Quoting a few lines from a book might be alright, but copying entire paragraphs or pages usually is not. In any case, downloading a song or movie from the Internet without permission is not considered fair use.

While copyright infringement extends beyond the Internet, it is a major issue. You should be aware of your actions on the Internet, and you should make a conscious effort to avoid copyright infringement. Copyright protects the authors, artists, and musicians you love. Respect them (and protect yourself) by avoiding copyright infringement.