Since the beginning of time, history has been recorded and passed down by word of mouth, engraved on stone tablets, and carved onto cave walls. However, as time progressed, new forms of recording evolved through technology and innovation. The creation of the printing press, videocassette recorders (VCR), tape recorders, copy machines, and now, digital recording is accessible to almost everyone. Today, much controversy and heated debate has plagued companies with many new technological issues. An issue that has since received much attention is the piracy of DVD movies, musical CDs, and the downloading of free music from the Internet. Piracy has ignited an ethical controversy that has opened the eyes and ears of people all over the world. Many questions are still left unanswered and opinions from both sides of the entertainment industry and the copyright violators have yet to be heard. One main issue included Napster and the violation of copyright laws. Did the artists and the entertainment industry get any compensation from the downloading of free music? Within this paper, I plan to explore the positive and negative aspects of piracy and the downloading of free music from Napster and companies alike. Most importantly, the security issues of copy protection and the prevention of piracy will be addressed.

According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, piracy is the unauthorized use or reproduction of copyrighted or patented material. In today’s world, piracy is an epidemic that has blanketed many countries. Many people suspect that China, Malaysia, and the Philippines are the biggest offenders in the field of piracy, but in actuality the United States is at the very top of the piracy list. People fail to realize the effects of piracy and the damages it causes. For instance, "in 1999, more than 35% of software in circulation in the world was ‘pirated’. That cost the global software industry as much as $12 billion in revenue, and an estimated 107,000 jobs were lost" (Profit from the Business Software Alliance’s Software Legalization Campaign). Likewise, "the music industry lost more than $1 billion per year from the illegal activities conducted by the world’s four leading pirate marketplaces - Brazil, China, Russia, and Mexico. The sale of pirate recordings exceeded $4.2 billion worldwide and this did not include losses due to Internet piracy" (2001 Physical Anti-Piracy Figures Announced By RIAA). Also, any kind of unauthorized disk duplication of software, music, or DVD products "impacts the ability of the business to remain solvent and it affects jobs and people’s lives" (Information Security 62). Basically, it’s similar to a domino affect? Everybody is affected, from the Chief Executive Officer of a music company, to the shippers that transport the music CDs to retail stores, and down to the sales associates who stock the CDs.

With piracy on the rise, many entertainment companies are heavily researching and investing on better copy protection methods. It’s a constant tug-of-war match between the pirates and copy protectors. Every time a new copy protection method is developed, the hackers and pirates find ways of bypassing and defeating it. Despite this, other forms of defense against piracy include, Content Scrambling Systems (CSS), digital watermarking, and classified anti-copying technology. These methods provide CD and DVD manufactures with some sense of security.

First and foremost, Napster is the originator of all free downloadable music sites. It was created by Shawn Fanning, an 18-year-old college dropout. He dropped out of school because he had a bigger dream to pursue. This dream was to create a program that would allow computer users to swap music files with one another directly. "He didn’t need friends, family, financing – he almost went without food. He was self-sufficient, gaining sustenance and strength from the work, as if by his hands he was creating his own manna. He’d heard all the complaints about how frustrating it was to try to find good music on the Net, how so many of the pointers on websites offering current (which is to say copyrighted) music seem to lead to dead ends" (Meet the Napster 34). Fanning created his own Frankenstein known as Napster, a music search program that helps Internet users find the exact song they are looking for. Along with that, he incorporated communication, instant messaging, and chat lines. It was a community where everybody shared the same interest – the love for music.

So, how does Napster work? First, an individual would log onto the Napster site at www.napster.com. Then, before anything can be downloaded, Napster provides the individual with a set of rules and a warning that states "We respect copyright laws and expect our users to do the same. You agree you will not use our service to infringe intellectual property rights of others." As soon as the user reads and agrees to the contract, he or she is able to download and install the program into their own personal computer.

As a result, the program enables the user to log onto Napster’s server. Now, the user can type in a particular song or artist he or she is searching for. The request is sent to the server. Then, the database is checked for any other Napster users who are online with a file that contains the song or artist of the user. Finally, if the server finds a match, Napster connects the individual’s computer with another computer that has the song or artist they are looking for. Then, the file is downloaded from one to the other. In laymen terms, "the music isn’t actually traded through the site. Instead, Napster’s software, which is free to anyone who wants to download it allows a person to zap a song from their computer via the Internet to another user’s hard drive in under a minute" (Who’s Afraid of this Kid 1). Basically, it’s all about sharing music.

Similarly, it’s like borrowing a musical compact disc (CD) from a friend or the library. The individual is given the opportunity to listen to the music and even make a copy of the CD for their own personal use. The concept is almost identically the same with Napster, but the difference is Napster has 62 million users.

Masses of people have recorded or made copies of various items. For instance, teachers make photocopies of material to pass onto students, people record music from their radios or movies from their television set. So, this means that everybody is in violation of the copyright law. In other words, everybody is incriminating themselves. Who should be blamed for all of this? Does society blame themselves or does society blame Napster for creating a web-site that allows people all over the world to download free music. In my opinion, society is not to blame nor is Napster. The electronic companies should be blamed because they provide people with the tools to infringe on the copyright laws.

The question is, who is really in violation of the copyright laws? Is it the individual who developed the "record button" that’s installed on the VCR, boom boxes, radio players, stereo equipment, copy machines, and the computer? Didn’t the law and the government regulate the sale and market of personal CD-copiers, MP3 players, and the "record button"? Basically, the law and the electronic companies facilitate and encourage the public to break copyright laws. They are the primary source of the problem.

For example, let’s look at the Supreme Court case of 1984 on the establishment of VCR’s. The entertainment industry wanted to ban and stop the selling of VCR’s because they said it violated copyright laws. Also, it encouraged piracy and the copying of televised shows and movies. Primarily, they said the VCR would put the entertainment industry out of business. The entertainment industry was wrong! The VCR was a big hit and it still is. It has generated a prodigious amount of profits for the entertainment industry. "The Supreme Court decided to allow the VCR to go on sale and flourish because it was technology that had ‘substantial’ legitimate uses, it couldn’t be banned" (Proving Napster is a Tough Job for Boies 1). Now, it has become a standard in many living rooms all over the world.

According to the copyright law, Section 107, Title 17 of the United States Copyright Act, "the fair use of a copyrighted work for the purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright."

Mainly, Napster is a threat to music artists and companies because no longer will people purchase a CD with only one or two good songs for $17.00. Consumers will be able to preview the song and get their hard-earned money’s worth by actually buying a good CD.

In addition, Napster can also be used as an educational tool. Teachers, especially, music teachers, can use Napster to explain to their students the contrast of music through different periods of time basically music history. For example, Patsy Kline’s "Crazy" can be compared to today’s Britney Spears "Crazy" or Beethoven’s musical talents can be compared to Stevie Wonder’s instrumental talents.

Napster provides users with a prodigious array of benefits. To illustrate, Napster allows music listeners to find any song, in any language, and from any year. From Frank Sinatra to Run DMC. The possibilities are endless. It gives consumers a chance to preview the music and it allows parents to view their children’s music for explicit lyrics, before purchasing an album. It helps both small and big artists to promote their songs here in the United States and internationally. It also gives new and upcoming artists a chance to be heard, recognized, and publicized. Mainly, Napster is a music community where everybody can chat online about music issues.

A new generation of people are rediscovering older songs that are no longer in mass distribution, and it goes vice versa, older generations are now discovering newer songs. Therefore, this adds up to more CD’s being purchased. There are over a billion music downloads, but music sales are still up and increasing. So, where’s the evidence that downloads hurt business? If anything else, downloads are creating more demand. And according to the Bureau of Census, music sales are still climbing. "In fact, numerous studies show that Napster users are more likely to buy CDs after using the Napster Directory. 42% of Napster users sample the songs and then buy them on CD" (Barry 5).

However, the down side of Napster is that there are very few limitations. People are able to download all the music they want without purchasing a single album. "We could all become music pirates because it was just so easy to do – even easier than ordering a CD online. And once that happened, would we ever go back to getting into our car, driving to the mall and buying a shrink-wrapped piece of plastic with a little silver disc inside" (Meet the Napster 37)? If this continues, CD and DVD sales will eventually go down and this can lead to fewer people entering the entertainment business and the remaining musical artists leaving the business.

"After the revolution, the French abolished their copyright system, but they quickly reversed course when the consequences were seen: a decline in the quantity and quality of what was published. I have similar concern for quality in our time. Without enforceable copyright – perhaps with only advertising revenue to support creators of content – how great will the content be" (Fears of a Tech Pioneer 44)?

I know from personal experience, that downloading music can be very troublesome and in no way, shape, or form perfect. It takes about 20 minutes to an hour just to download one song. However, if the server kicks you off, then you only have part of the song recorded and in most cases, there are glitches on the CD. Basically, nothing can ever compare to the original master copy.

All in all, technology and innovation has both good and bad aspects. Since the downfall of Napster, more and more Napster copycats such as Gnutllela, Audio Galaxy, Freenet, and Morbeius have been widespread. They have encrypted the code and have created their own websites that allow users to download free music. So, a new law needs to be established, enforced, and better defined to prevent free music downloads. According to Val Azzoli the Atlantic Records Co-Chariman, "It’s not just music I’m worried about. It’s all intellectual properties. If you can take music, you can take everything else too." Despite, all the negative controversy that surrounds Napster, there are still several positive impacts that Napster has accomplished. Fanning’s ideas was a stepping stone for other companies to follow. As a result, this new found information could be used to create better service for the consumers and entertainment industry.

As the rate of piracy continues to increase, so has the efforts to try to prevent it. One possible solution is a technology called digital watermarking. Digital watermarking embeds various types of information in digital content. Information to protect and prove the validity of data, like copyright or who owns the file can be embedded as a watermark.

Basically, a watermark on a bank note can have a different transparency then the rest of the note when light is shined upon it. This can show if the bank note is authentic or replicated. However, a digital watermark permanently marks a video frame or a digital audio with a noise that is undetectable by ears or eyes.

"The watermark also tells the DVD copying hardware what can be done with the original" (DVD Pirates Face Watery Foe). For example, it can give instructions for the number of times it can be copied, what parts can be copied, and if it can be copied at all.

Applied Holographics, Inc. and Nimbus created a simplistic form of anti-piracy for a DVD disc. To authenticate a disc, a hologram image would be embedded on the disc’s surface. This highly visible holographic image uniquely distinguishes it from a basic DVD disc. So, when a consumer purchases a DVD, he or she is able to notice the difference between a pirated and authenticated copy.

On the other hand, Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) carries its own copy protection known as Content Scrambling System (CSS). "CSS is an encryption system that most commercial DVDs use, and all DVD players need to understand. It’s alleged purpose is to stop piracy, however it also enforces region coding, non-skippable FBI warnings or commercials and many other artificial restrictions" (www.lemuria.org). Also, CSS is "intended to prevent people from using computers with operating systems not officially licensed to access DVDs, such as Linux, from reading a disc’s content" (Is DeCSS Technology Digital Piracy).

In 1999, "two European Hacker groups known as DoD (Drink or Die) and MORE (Masters of Reverse Engineering) simultaneously discovered a flaw in DVD encryption codes" (www.lemuria.com). So, they designed an application known as DeCSS a decryption tool. With DeCSS, "they reverse-engineered CSS codes to enable them to play and copy CSS-protected DVDs on Linux systems. The DeCSS program was clearly designed to elude technological encryption measures intended to maintain the security of DVD contents" (Is DeCSS Technology Digital Piracy).

"First, Microsoft focuses on education and awareness to help consumers recognize the risks of software piracy, particularly on auction sites" (Microsoft Intensifies Worldwide Campaign Against Software Piracy And Criminal Counterfeiting).

"Second, Microsoft participates in global investigations to identify and eliminate the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit software" (Microsoft Intensifies Worldwide Campaign Against Software Piracy And Criminal Counterfeiting).

"Third, Microsoft is helping to develop broad solutions to help consumers, ISPs, auction sites and industry organizations work together and apply important codes of conduct that help set expectations and business guidelines so that consumers have a better understanding of what to expect when they shop online" (Microsoft Intensifies Worldwide Campaign Against Software Piracy And Criminal Counterfeiting).

"Fourth, Microsoft is working alongside government to strengthen copyright laws to protect software and/or increase penalties for infringement, and working with law enforcement agencies to encourage adherence to those laws" (Microsoft Intensifies Worldwide Campaign Against Software Piracy And Criminal Counterfeiting).

In Europe, companies such as BMG are testing out their new classified batch of anti-copying technology. These CDs cannot be played on a home personal computer because BMG’s primary goal is to prevent any type of piracy. So, when a person plays one of BMG’s anti-copying CDs on his or her computer, the computer will either crash or it won’t play the CD. This seems like a great method because it will prevent CD-R copying and sharing of music files over the Internet. However, consumers and music fans are going to be outraged by this new technology. As a result, consumers and music fans will no longer have the opportunity to create their own digital home recordings on a burnable CD-R drive.

In conclusion, piracy has continued to be an on going problem for centuries. To see the effects of piracy, one needs to look at the whole picture. First of all, pirating is theft of someone else’s intellectual property. Next, piracy effects the jobs and therefore wellbeing of others. Finally, it depletes the profit and worth of the entertainment industry. Despite all of this, there has been progress in creating new devices that will prevent piracy. Some of these technologies include digital watermarks and content scrambling systems. There are also, other businesses that are forging their way through this piracy chaos and they too are creating and testing there own devices to prevent piracy.

Since the beginning of time, history has been recorded and passed down by word of mouth, engraved on stone tablets, and carved onto cave walls. However, as time progressed, new forms of recording evolved through technology and innovation. The creation of the printing press, videocassette recorders (VCR), tape recorders, copy machines, and now, digital recording is accessible to almost everyone. Today, much controversy and heated debate has plagued companies with many new technological issues. An issue that has since received much attention is the piracy of DVD movies, musical CDs, and the downloading of free music from the Internet. Piracy has ignited an ethical controversy that has opened the eyes and ears of people all over the world. Within this summary, I plan to define piracy and list some copy protection methods.

According to the American Heritage College Dictionary, piracy is the unauthorized use of reproduction of copyrighted or patented material. With piracy on the rise, numerous companies have invested heavily in digital watermarks, Content Scrambling System (CSS), holograms, BMG’s Anti-Copying Technology, and Microsoft’s Four-Pronged Approach to Fighting Piracy. Every time a new copy protection method is developed, hackers and pirates find ways of bypassing the copy protections. All in all, it’s a constant tug-of-war match between the pirates and copy protectors.

1. What is the definition of piracy?
2. What does the acronym CSS stand for?

www.licenseon.com. - Profit from the Business Software Alliance’s Software Legalization Campaign

www.riaa.org - 2001 Physical Anti-Piracy Figures Announced By RIAA

Joy, Bill - Fears of a Tech Pioneer pg.44

Grennfold, Geourge - Meet the Napster pg34

Patrizio, Andy – DVD Pirates Face Watery Foe

Pipkin, L. Donald - Information Security pg.62

Kover, Amy - Who’s Afraid of this Kid pg1

Kahn, Jeremy - Proving Napster is a Tough Job for Boies 1.

www.microsoft.com - Microsoft Intensifies Worldwide Campaign Against Software Piracy And Criminal Counterfeiting

www.ewatermark.com – General Information about Digital Watermarks