Downloading and Uploading Copyrighted Materials Should be Legal

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Many people who use the Internet regularly have downloaded some kinds of copyrighted materials such as music and movies. However, should it be illegal to protect copyrighted materials more strictly? Today, downloading and sharing copyrighted materials is illegal in many countries such as Japan and the United States. In fact, people who share copyrighted materials get fines or jail sentences. For example, according to Yahoo Movies, a man from Gunma Prefecture in Japan was arrested for uploading a movie, the Wind Rises, in 2014. Nevertheless, downloading and sharing copyrighted materials should be legal for the economic growth and for artists.
The first reason why downloading and uploading copyrighted materials from the Internet should be legal is that downloading copyrighted materials positively affects the economy. The European Commission Joint Research Center reported that the profits of music companies would be 2% lower if uploading and downloading copyrighted materials were banned. However, music companies are able to acquire more profits despite illegal downloading because many people tend to purchase CDs or DVDs after watching or listening to copyrighted materials for free. Moreover, the research showed that people who download music illegally spent more money to buy music than people who did not download illegally. In addition, research conducted by the Swiss government informed that one-third of Swiss people downloaded copyrighted materials from the Internet because personal use of copyrighted materials is legal in Switzerland. Even though there is a fact that many people can download copyrighted materials from the Internet legally in Switzerland, the amount of money that people spend to buy copyrighted materials is not f...

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Rothman, L. (2013). Illegal music downloads not hurting industry, study claims.
Time Entertainment. Retrieved February 8, 2014 from http://entertainment.time.com/2013/03/21/illegal-music-downloads-not-hurtin g-industry-study-claims/

Youngs, I. (2009). Bands 'better because of piracy'. BBC News. Retrieved
February 8, 2014 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8097324.stm Kinsella, S. (2011). Swiss Govt: downloading movies and music will stay legal.
Center for the Study of Innovative Freedom. Retrieved February 8, 2014 from http://c4sif.org/2011/12/swiss-govt-downloading-movies-and-music-will-stay -legal/

Williams, M, P. (2014). Man arrested for uploading The Wind Rises online. Yahoo!
Movies. Retrieved February 13, 2014 from http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/man-arrested-uploading-wind- rises-online-202800255.html

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