Should Downloading Music Be Illegal?

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SHOULD DOWNLOADING MUSIC BE ILLEGAL? SUPPORTIVE SPEECH. It's astounding how many people own at least one illegal copy of a film, or a pirated copy. They don't see it as a big deal; after all, millions of other people are doing the same thing. Let's put how common this is aside for a moment and take a deeper look at the act of illegal downloading or piracy. A man works an ordinary day-job. He is making about the same as most of Americans in wages. The new movie he absolutely wanted to see has come out on DVD. That day he goes to his local store where he wishes to purchase DVD. He arrives at the store and immediately heads for the DVD section. He has found the DVD and has learned that it costs about $20-$25 to purchase. His second-think is about buying the DVD. He decides not to and leaves the store, as he is struggling to earn the living in the poor economy. The man gets home and gets on his computer and thinks about illegally downloading the movie he wanted to buy from the store. He searches and searches and finally finds a source to download it from. He does and proceeds to watch the film. What just happened here? Obviously, we saw a man illegally download a copy of a film he wanted to see. He has broken the law. You know all of those warnings you see from the FBI and INTERPOL at the beginning of your legal copies of DVDs and whatnot? They're not just warnings. That's the FBI and INTERPOL making you aware of piracy and copyright infringement being crime, and they are making you aware of the punishment you may receive if found guilty. So, now, the man is subject to up to 5 years in federal prison or a fine of up to $250,000. Some of you may be thinking, "Oh, it's just one guy with one download. Not a Big deal." I understand that. It doesn't seem like that much of a problem. One download would just be cheating the companies out of the profits from one

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