Reflections by Team

This paper is a compound of weekly reflections by Team C. This week's objectives is to discuss the weekly topics members of Team C felt comfortable with topics they struggled with and how the topics related to applications in their fields. The discussion in week three "Legal Issues in Cyberspace and "Copyright Infringement" explained the various laws and acts set in place to protect ones intellectual property.

The vast growth of technology has kept the lawmakers and courts busy applying copyright laws in the digital era. The Copyright Act gives the owner of creations the right to do want them what with their property and also authorize others to use it. When the others do not obtain authorization for the use of others creations within the scope of "Fair Use" (purpose and nature of use, nature of the work, amount and substantiality used, and market effect) laws can be broken.

The Internet and computer software started problems such as domain name, trademark infringement, and cybersquatting. Copyright holders called on Congress for more additional protections in the area of copyright laws. The Recording Industry took the biggest impact with the MP3 (popular music file format) compressed digital files and increased speed advancements of the Internet. More than 35,000 lawsuits against alleged illegal file sharers, 32-year-old Minnesota mother was two was fined 80,000 for downloading 24 songs throw file-sharing service Kazaa.

There are three different theories of infringement that a copyright holder use to go after a party believed to have violate on its copyright. The three theories are direct, indirect, and vicarious infringement.

Direct infringement happen when the owner of the copyright can prove that he owns the work that is in question and the violator copied the work illegally. Courts have created the substantial similarity standard to control the meaning of copy under the laws of copyright. So, a holder of a copyright have to prove that the violator copied structures, plots, and organizations that made his work like the other person work.

Indirect infringement imply three parties: the copyright owner, the direct infringer, and the facilitator of the infringement (Melvin, 2011). The indirect infringement theory is the one that holds the violator liable for all damages. In the famous case of A&M Records Inc. v. Napster, Inc. a federal appeals