Copyright - Copyright Infringement

Copyright Infringement

Piracy is considered to be the illegitimate use of materials held by copyright. For a work to be considered pirated, its illegitimate use must have occurred in a nation that has domestic copyright laws and/or adheres to a bilateral treaty or established international convention such as the Berne Convention or WIPO Copyright Treaty. Improper use of materials outside of this legislation is deemed "unauthorized edition", not piracy.

Piracy primarily targets software, film and music. However, the illegal copying of books and other text works remains common, especially for educational reasons. Statistics regarding the effects of piracy are difficult to determine. Studies have attempted to estimate a monetary loss for industries affected by piracy by predicting what portion of pirated works would have been formally purchased if they had not been freely available. Estimates in 2007 stated 18.2 billion potential losses in consumer dollars lost as a result of piracy activities in the United States. International estimates suggest losses in the billions throughout the last decade. However other reports indicate that piracy does not have an adverse effect on the entertainment industry.