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Author: Petr Paseka, MG Příbor Czech Republic

Downloading

Příbor 8. 01. 2010

The internet is turning economics inside out. For example, everybody on the internet now wants stuff for free and there are so many free services available. (Uri Geller)

I have decided to write an article about illegal downloading from the internet. First, I think it's a big deal especially for many musicians, film producers or software companies and secondly, I think it's almost in way of everybody who is used to surfing the internet. I would also like to get closer this problem for people who don't know much about downloading.

It's nothing new that you can find many files or services you can download or use from the internet.The question is: is downloading legal or not? In most cases the answer is negative , because sharing and downloading is illegal. Of course, you can find files for legal downloading, but you have to pay for them.

It seems innocent if you click on the download icon, but it isn't. It should be compared with stealing in a store. Would you steal a magazine, a mp3 player or a car? Downloading from the internet is a theft, and sharing files, once you have stolen them, only makes it worse. For example, if everybody only downloaded movies, films wouldn't make money and the studios wouldn't invest millions of dollars to make new ones.

On the other hand, movies and music are quite expensive. On the top of that another question appears: isn't downloading better, easier and cheaper? I think, that is the main reason why internet users prefer sharing movies to buying them. In the modern world we love convenience and what could be more convenient than getting music, films and games without having to leave your house? You don't need to pay for what you get, there is no registration, and you don't have to wait until the shops open or the CD/DVD you want is posted to you.

However, you could be in big trouble if you are caught. You could go to prison as a result of acting unlawfully, but so far only a tiny amount of people have been prosecuted for downloading illegally. The majority of people who download illegally, and use the files for their personal use, will not get into trouble. And that's why it's important for people to understand what the long-term consequences are if they don't want to pay for their music, films and TV. Will film and music companies still spend millions of pounds every year if they have no chance of making a profit? The answer is plainly  "no".

Finally I would like to say that the internet offers a lot of services for money, but people will always try to get them for free. To summarize my thoughts I'd like to highlight that illegal downloading is both unfair towards producers and dangerous for those who practise this kind of "activity". You have to decide if to buy or download.