Business Illegal Downloads the Purpose

Business Illegal Downloads The purpose of this paper is to introduce and analyze the topic of ethics in American business. Specifically it will discuss who should be punished for downloading illegal music. Downloading music online is illegal unless you pay for the music, and that has been an ongoing problem for most recording companies. They own the copyright to the music, and it can only be used in any form with their permission.

Thus, downloading music from the Internet is punishable by law, and the person who downloads the music is ultimately responsible for the act, and should be the person the courts punish for downloading music. Most downloaders know the act is illegal, and choose to do it anyway, making it both legally and ethically wrong. Illegal music downloads have been making the news for years, especially when large music companies go after individuals who download music to their computers or cell phones.

Downloading music is illegal, and yet, millions of people still do it every day. In fact, earlier this month, a Minnesota woman lost a court battle with six record companies over downloading and then sharing music from the Internet, and a jury ordered her to pay $222,000 in damages to the companies. A news article about the trial notes, "The record companies accused Thomas of downloading the songs without permission and offering them online through a Kazaa file-sharing account" ("Minn. woman," 2007).

The record companies had a problem not only with the woman downloading the music, but then sharing it with others for free. They said what she did was with knowledge and "will," and so she is ultimately responsible for the act. The judge in the case wanted to send a clear message to others who illegally download music.

A music company spokesperson said, "This does send a message, I hope, that downloading and distributing our recordings is not OK,' said Richard Gabriel, the lead attorney for the music companies that sued Thomas" ("Minn. woman," 2007). Ethically, downloading music is against the law, but it also harms the recording artist and record company, who own the rights to the song.

People think that all these companies and artists make a lot of money, and somehow that justifies stealing music, but many companies and artists are small, and they do not make a lot of profit from their music, and stealing it without paying is like stealing a paycheck from them. In addition, stealing music is a known crime, and music companies have been filing suit against people for many years, making it common knowledge that downloading music is a crime.

The Minnesota trial was the first lawsuit to make it all the way to trial, however. Downloaders paying thousands of dollars in fines to recording companies have settled all the other suits ("Minn. woman, 2007). In one case, recording companies sued the parents of two under-18-year-olds, and the parents eventually settled with the record company. In this case, since the children were not of legal age, the companies went for the people who owned the computers.

However, in most normal cases, these would not be the people responsible, because anyone who owns a computer knows that you cannot control family members and friends 24 hours a day, 7 days a week when they are on the computer. It simply is not possible.

The music company is not responsible, even if they do give permission for clips or songs to be online, because they have not given specific permission to a person to download them without paying, and they have given permission to music sites, such as Napster, to sell the music. Napster includes a disclaimer in its terms and conditions that clearly state Napster and its affiliates wholly own the music, and copyright and intellectual property laws protect the owners ("Terms & Conditions," 2007).

In addition, to play Napster files, the downloader must use proprietary Napster software, which helps cut down on file sharing. Therefore, the person who actually downloads the music is the person who the courts should punish for the act. It does not matter what their intent was, whether they planned to share it or only listen to it themselves.

It is illegal, but more than that, it is ethically wrong, and most people know that, so they commit the act knowing that it is wrong, and that makes it even more wrong. There is one platform that supports the downloaders, however. Studies have indicated that downloading music for free actually helps sell music in the long run. The music industry cites fallen revenues for the last four years as evidence that illegal downloading is cutting into their profits.

However, a study by two academic researchers finds that some people who download music illegally eventually purchase the music they have downloaded. A reporter writes, "In fact, illegal downloading may help the industry slightly with another major segment, which Oberholzer and Strumpf call 'samplers' -- an older crowd who downloads a song or two and then, if they like what they hear, go out and buy the music" (Silverthorne, 2004).

However, the researchers also discovered that the majority of downloaders are teens and college students who have plenty of time to download, but do not always have the resources to eventually buy the music they download. In this category of illegal downloader, the record companies do indeed lose revenue. In 2004, record sales were up, and music downloads were up, as well, indicting that the theories of the two researchers may indeed be correct (Silverthorne, 2007).

In addition, their research indicates that a majority of illegal file downloading takes place in other countries, which do not have the same intellectual property laws that the U.S. does, and do not track their users as diligently, either. That means that much of the illegal downloading is happening where record companies have no control, so they exercise their greatest control where they have the most authority - in the U.S.

While downloading music files may eventually sell more music and make the listener aware of more music that does not make it right, morally or legally. Illegal music downloads comprise an ethical dilemma that stems from right and wrong and economics. Ethically, most people who download music files illegally know they are doing something wrong, but they justify it by thinking, "everyone does it," or "the recording companies make enough money already," or some similar justification.

Morally and ethically, downloading music for free harms the artist who made the recording, and the music company, and in reality, it is simply stealing, nothing more. A person who might never think of stealing anything off the shelves of a store thinks nothing of downloading a song,.