There are a lot of on-going debates on the huge impact of the Internet and its violations of the Intellectual Property Law. But one need not be a lawyer or professional to notice these intellectual property issues when using the Internet.
Even the simple acts that we do and have gotten used to in the internet are actually violations of intellectual property rights already. The simplest examples revolve around the following – music, picture, computer programs and publications.
Perhaps the most obvious act of intellectual property rights violation is through music. Downloading music files and videos from unauthorized websites have been very rampant. And this huge problem is very hard to solve because there are still no laws providing sanctions for such or perhaps there maybe laws pertaining to these violations but there are still no ways of how to enforce them. Another concern is pictures or symbols that are copied from the internet. Just like the ordinary copyright and patent issues, there are pictures or symbols found in the internet that has digital copyrights.
Though one may not know which one has or none digital copyrights, it is still very easy to copy these pictures. The most common victims of such are company logos and marketing taglines. And like the music files, computer programs are also easily downloaded from the internet. A lot installer programs that require subscription are among the favorite things downloaded through the internet for no cost at all. And the more controversial issue than music, pictures, or software programs is publications. Thesis dissertations, personal teaching modules, or subscribed publications can easily be copied just like the other items with intellectual properties. This greatly posts a risk on professionals and students who send their materials through the internet. And sadly, there is still no way of addressing these issues with the internet still behaving uncontrollably and borderless especially when there are no specific governing laws and law enforcement for it yet.