intellectual+property

=__Download music and movies legally!__=

Intellectual Property can be in the form of music, books, poems, art, photographs, movies, and other creative works.

Intellectual Property Theft is not just plagiarism, or taking someone else's ideas for your own. It also comes in the form of illegal downloading both videos and music. This makes it a huge problem worldwide that affects the economy. It specifically harms the music and movie industries.

"I don't care," you think to yourself. "Actors and singers get paid enough anyway, free downloading and illegal file sharing can't hurt them."



Maybe //they// are still filthy rich, but those "regular people" working in the studios, the sound rooms, and the record company employees are the ones who suffer most. Don't let them suffer anymore. Pay for your downloads! Besides that, with sites like Limewire, (which by the way is illegal file sharing), it is easy to get viruses which can destroy your computer. //You can learn more about Viruses on the page **Viruses and Spyware**.//



"So," you wonder, "how can this affect me at all?"

Well, the government has been cracking down on illegal downloading and you can be fined up to $250,000. That's a LOT of money, isn't it? Not only that but how would you like to be the **victim**?

You probably know all about Myspace and think it is a lot of fun. You can make a great page and put your photos, maybe a song or poem you wrote and then let your friends leave comments about them. But did you read the Terms of Agreement? No? No one does, really. What you are missing is that Myspace owns //everything// you post. They have legal rights to //your// intellectual property. So maybe you are in a band and you put a video of your group singing your newest song. Well, when you make it to the big stage- Myspace has the rights to the song you wrote and can make a lot of money off it. And there's NOTHING you can do about it.



So by now hopefully you know that you should take the proper steps to respect other people's intellectual property and to safeguard your own.

Click this link to watch a video about Intellectual Property Theft: http://www.isafe.org/webcasts/?videoid=3&school_id=12297