By Scott Thompson
In front of a House Judiciary Committee investigating copyright infringement on the Internet in 2002, Phil Gladston, a 40-year veteran of the music industry, pled for relief.
'My greatest achievement, and my greatest asset, is the catalogue of over 600 songs that I have amassed in 37 years of writing,' he said. 'That asset - my personal property - is under attack and is the subject of outright theft by those who obtain it without my permission and without compensating me.'
Four years later, Gladston can take comfort in knowing that his copyrighted material is much safer than it was in the heyday of Web sites like the original Napster and Audiogalaxy.
In a study conducted in February of this year, 2006, the Business Software Alliance, a group of major software companies that fights piracy, showed a 20 percent drop in illegal music downloads over the past two years. The study also showed an 8 percent drop in illegal game downloads and a 7 percent drop for movies.
Authorities attribute part of the decline to a growing respect for copyright laws across the country, even though many college students are still unaware of what the copyright law entails.
'More recently there has been a greater awareness of the sanctity of copyright,' said Thomas Lee, a BYU law professor who teaches a course on copyright law. 'More people are offended by someone who is ripping off the copyright owner.'
The copyright law states that the creator of a work which contains some level of creativity is entitled to certain rights.
These privileges, guaranteed in Titles 17 and 18 of the U.S. Code, include the exclusive right to copy, distribute and license the work, whether it is a song, movie, book, artwork or software.
'The basic idea of copyright law is to encourage authorship,' Lee said. 'To encourage people to invest the necessary resources to develop books and music and art. If you are downloading for free what everyone else is paying for, you are probably violating the law, which means you are violating the honor code.'
However, for BYU students who are confused about copyright law have resources available to help them understand.
'The copyright law allows us as students and educators some wiggle room for scholarly use,' said Carl Johnson, director of the BYU Copyright Licensing Office.
He also said he wants to encourage students to educate themselves on this important matter.
The university''s Copyright Licensing Office maintains a Web site where the information can be accessed. Students can browse frequently asked questions about the legality of downloading, ask their own questions and read the university Copyright Policy.
This policy states, in part, 'All members of the BYU community - faculty, staff, students, volunteers and patrons - are expected to make a good faith effort to respect the rights of copyright owners.'
To those who disregard these laws, the statement warns, 'Members of the BYU community who disregard this copyright policy may violate the Church Educational System Honor Code and the terms of their employment; may place themselves at risk for possible legal action; and may incur personal liability.'
While most copyright infringement claims must be made by the copyright owner and handled as a civil case, more serious violations are investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by the federal government.
Penalties can be as simple as an injunction requiring the violator to stop, but more egregious infringements can be punished with a maximum of five years in prison and/or a fine of $250,000.
A question on the mind of many students is how violators are caught.
A copyright infringement claim must be brought by the copyright owner, but is often reported to the owner by a third party.
' has nothing targeted at illegal downloads at all,' said the Office of Information Technology at BYU. 'It is totally based on the Honor Code and copyright laws.'
The Copyright Licensing Office told The Daily Universe that the university does not have personnel devoted to finding copyright violations on the network, but that some entertainment industries have electronic crawlers that search networks for illegal content.
Several companies, such as the Business Software Alliance, the Motion Picture Association of America and Music United sponsor hotlines and Web sites dedicated to receiving piracy reports from concerned citizens.
These reports have led authorities to arrest hundreds of offenders around the world and, since just last year, over 76 million counterfeit DVDs have been taken off the streets.
According to the Motion Picture Association of America, the core copyright industries of movies, books, television, music and other media are responsible for an estimated 6 percent of the nation''s gross domestic product, or more than $626 billion a year.