The music industry association of america protecting intellectual property and the rights of original sources of performers

The paper ” The Music Industry Association of America and Stop Online Piracy Act” is a worthy example of a term paper on music. The music industry association of America (RIAA) is a membership association of music recording companies as well as trade associations that represent the recording industry in the United States (Hertzberg 5). The organization comprises of record labels and distributors, who create, manufacture and distribute about 85% of all legal music sold. Its goals are to protect intellectual property and first alteration rights of artists, as well as perform study about the music business and examine pertinent regulations.  Napster is an online music store, which allows for file sharing in the form of peer-to-peer file sharing of mp3 format music system. Originally, the company ran into a legal problem over copyright infringement due to illegal file-sharing through the online music store. This essay will illustrate and detail the efforts of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), since the launch of Napster to fight piracy. It will also describe the main tenants of SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act and the law’s intended purpose. The manuscript will also discuss the pros and cons of such a law, the reaction of the technology industry, and the implementation of the proposed law.
The Recording Industry Association of America versus Napster
In 1999, Napster website was launched in the US. This portended significant impacts on the global music industry. Napster enabled musicians and music fans to trace music accessible in the MP3, and WMA music formats. The website made it feasible for its users to distribute their music files via the Internet with other users all over the world. Napster upheld a database of song files on the computer hard-drives of other authorized Napster users.
Efforts against infringement of members copyrights
The RIAA opposes unauthorized sharing of music files. Studies show that since the association began functioning, peer-to-peer file sharing has concluded that losses incurred per download range from insignificant to significant. The RIAA has commenced high profile lawsuits against file sharing service providers, as well as seeking legal redress on individuals suspected of such sharing. The organization opposed the use techniques such as peer-to-peer decoying and spoofing to combat music piracy.
By late 2008, RIAA had announced that it had stopped its lawsuits and instead would attempt to work with the ISPs who would use a three-strike warning system for file sharing, and upon the third would cut off internet services. However, in 2009 no major ISPs had announced they would be part of the plan, and Verizon had publicly denied any involvement with the plan.
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA)
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) is a projected bill aimed at breaking down on the copyright infringement by restricting access to sites that swarm and facilitate the trading of pirated music (Laderman. D 10). Texas Republican Lamar Smith initiated SOPA in October with bipartisan advocacy. The bill’s key purpose is to give power to U. S. law enforcement to battle the online promotion of copyrighted materials. SOPA targets overseas sites such as Torrent Hub and The Pirate Bay, which are a host for illegal downloads.
SOPA Supporters
SOPA supporters include CNN Money, Parent Company, Time Warner and organizations such as the Motion Picture Association of America. These organizations claim that online piracy significantly promotes American joblessness since it denies content creators their income. SOPA’s expectation was to navigate through the committee approval in the house, but technological companies who oppose the bill mobilized their users to speak out.
The Pros of SOPA
I. Copyright owners have the right to close down any website that replicates their particular contents.
II. The increase in revenue of the business, since customers will be gratified to acquire music from the source.
III. The government will take action on any complaints in regards to piracy and whoever is found guilty will pay the charge that held to the person (Howe, H 187).
The Cons of SOPA
I. The government would have a hard time implementing such laws as it involves the worldwide web.
II. The international community will find difficult to approve different laws for each country.
III. People would be required to shell out large amounts of money whenever they want to download music or videos.
Conclusion
SOPA’s proponents claim that the legislation is critical into discontinuing revenue flow to these illegitimate websites. The bills have been defined as a way to guard movie studios, record labels, and artists. Advocates vary from the Country Music Association to the American Commerce Chamber. However, critics argue that the bill might have negative impacts on free and open online sharing. Implementation of policies across the globe is significant in fighting online piracy and regulating the internet in various aspects. However, it may impact negatively on online freedoms.