Should People Be Prosecuted For Piracy

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “ No people is wholly civilized where a distinction is drawn between stealing.” This quote can relate to the problem that has been going on against the piracy that has been occurring for many years. It has been occurring more now since it has been becoming easier to get access to certain files online. Personally, I think that people should be prosecuted for piracy because it is illegal, morally not right, and it causes many problems for composers.
Pirating is the same as stealing you are taking something that isn’t rightfully yours’ and it is because of this that prosecution should happen against these individuals. Pirating brings many problems to an individual the most important being it can bring serious penalties with the law. For instance, “is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000” (Source 3). This is the punishment for copyrighting any file such as a movie, play, song etc. The reason for these punishments to be occurring is so people can become aware of how important the problem of piracy is. Also, these punishments are inputted so it can give people a reason as to why not download a file without paying for it like you should. This type of fine can leave an individual bankrupt and having to pay this debt for the rest of their life.

People have been prosecuted already for committing piracy.

It has happened and will continue to happen because that is the law already. For instance, “ The case of a college student being charged $675,000 for downloading 30 songs and sharing them on the Internet” (Source 2). This is a case that occurred already, this student could have used that money to pay off his college life if he had follow the law and done the right thing since the beginning. However, because he committed piracy he got a fine that he must pay in order to be in good terms with the law. If people do not follow the law, there will be serious

consequences.
Getting into problems with the law isn’t a good thing under any way for the reason that an individual’s morals can be seen as bad if someone’s record isn’t clean. When applying for jobs usually employers will do a background check on the individual applying for the job. Copyrighting something is the same as stealing which is not a good characteristic to have. Acquiring a file without paying for it is illegal because under the law’s eyes it is the same as stealing. For instance, “Illegal downloading inappropriate for All ages” (Source 3). As seen in this quote, one can see that in the eyes of people such as the ones that pass the laws in the supreme court they believe that at any age a person should know the difference between buying something or stealing something. A person’s morals are important they say a lot about a person so it is because of this that people should think before downloading something illegally.
Composers spend a lot of time into making a song, it isn’t fair to the them when there audience acquires their music for free from some random website. Being inspired and writing a song isn’t easy first of all but then once you have the lyrics to a song it’s difficult singing it and finding the right of tone you want for the song to be. Composers way of getting paid is when their audience buys their music. However, if someone downloads the music for free, composers do not get paid. For instance, “It’s not like I’m charging you $20 an hour for the 10,000 hours that went into making the song” (Source 4). This quote is from an artist expressing the way he feels about people downloading music illegally, he himself does not think it’s fair. As one could see, the composer himself admits that it takes a very long time into making a single song and people should pay because making music is a job.
Another problem, that comes with downloading any files illegally is the fact that certain people such as artists can get tired of being treated unfairly and might quit their job if they do not get paid enough money. For instance, “But it had to be done in a fair way, so that creative artists have the capability of continuing to create. I want to share! Just be fair” (Source 4). As seen in this quote, one can see that the composer is making it clear that composers have to get paid enough money so they can make a living off what they love. If they get paid enough then composers will continue to do what they love. Bottom line is that this is their job and their creations should be respected.
Many people might argue the fact that the penalty for piracy is way to high and that it should be lower. As seen in, “ A few unlucky scapegoats get fined insane amounts that will bankrupt them for life… the probability of being fined $100 would be a more effective deterrent than the current tiny odds” (Source 2). This person’s opinion is that the piracy penalty should be lower because it is not fair that one person gets caught and gets ridiculously fines. However, if they don’t want to receive a penalty then they shouldn’t break the law in the first place. Receiving a fine of $100 would not help end the piracy problem because of the fact that the fine isn’t at all that high and people know they can pay it in a single paycheck. The penalty for piracy I believe is correct because it will make people think before downloading a file illegally.
Piracy is illegal and should definitely be prosecuted by the law to people who commit this crime. Even though, this crime can seem as a minor crime, it is still a crime because people are taking something that isn’t rightfully theirs’.People need to learn that have to respect the fact that people spent long hours into making a masterpiece and should pay if they want to acquire that specific file. If you wouldn’t like someone taking something from you, don’t do it to other people or you will get prosecuted.