Protection of rights in intellectual property: How will public policy control copyright piracy in the age of the Internet

The purpose of this dissertation is to examine copyright piracy in the age of the Internet. The digital age has brought both benefits and some costs, one of which is an increase in threats to copying of intellectual property in digital form. Policy to protect intellectual property has traditionally relied on national laws tied to international agreements such as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). Those who advocate stronger policy state that (1) stronger protection will reduce piracy and (2) threats of trade sanctions will induce countries to implement stronger protection policies. However, current policy is based on assumptions that are becoming obsolete. The Internet now allows individuals to ignore strong copyright policy by copying protected files in the privacy of their homes. Surveys show that different cultures do not consider copying or sharing software to be theft.; This dissertation examines three hypotheses; copyright piracy is decreased (1) by stronger protection policy, (2) by a smaller size communications infrastructure, or (3) by the presence of certain cultural characteristics. Findings show that communications infrastructure size varies inversely with piracy. This finding is unexpected, since the Internet is increasingly involved in copyright piracy and a larger national communications infrastructure allows more access to piracy tools. These findings, when compared with emerging issues, indicate that piracy data reported by industry to the US Trade Representative does not contain information about Internet piracy.; The conclusion is that piracy is becoming an individual choice, and copyright policy must be informed by individual motivations. Also, countries of the East are shifting to higher-density communications infrastructures, and countries of the West are shifting towards Eastern views for handling of intellectual property. These shifts will likely result in increased future Internet piracy. To reduce piracy, the copyright industry must explore new business models that offer the convenient features that Internet users want.