2. Types of piracy

Piracy with regards to information and media mainly covers two major areas, the multimedia industry and software industry. For today’s world, getting the latest hit song, video or software program can be as easy as pressing a button. With no investment necessary, any song or movie or even program can be found on person to person file sharing networks such as Limewire, Frostwire or BitTorrent.

Types of Software Piracy

1) End-User piracy: When users copy software without appropriate licensing for each copy. This includes both casual copying and distribution between individuals, and companies who do not strictly monitor the number of software licenses they install and do not acquire enough licenses to cover their software installations.

2) Pre-installed Software: When a computer manufacturer takes one copy of software and illegally installs it on more than one computer. Consumers should be on the lookout for proper license documentation when purchasing a new PC, to ensure they're getting what they paid for.

3) Internet Piracy: When unauthorized copies are downloaded over the Internet. If downloads are made available on the Internet, make sure that the publisher has authorized this distribution.

4) Counterfeiting: When illegal copies of software are made and distributed in packaging that reproduces the manufacturer's packaging. Counterfeit registration cards with unauthorized serial numbers are often included in these packages.

5) Online Auction Piracy: several forms, such as:

• Software resold in violation of the original terms of sale, NFR (Not for Resale), or OEM software that is never authorized for resale by a third party.
• Online distributors offering special deals with the software publisher, liquidated inventories, or acquisition through bankruptcy sales. These types of phrases are used to fool consumers into believing that they are getting genuine product that wouldn't otherwise be discounted.

Music Piracy & Video Piracy

Top Pirated Music

For music, it is the copying and distributing of copies of a piece of music for which the composer, recording artist, or copyright-holding record company did not give consent. It is a form of copyright infringement, which is a crime in many countries.

The beginning of music downloading phenomenon started with Napster. Napster was an online music sharing service started in June of 1999. It was the first commonly used music sharing system on the Internet. While it was not a true peer-to-peer network as the content (a list of files provided by each user) was stored on a central network of servers, the actual transfer/sharing of files occurred directly between individual user’s machines. 

Top Pirated Videos

Whereas for video piracy, a movie is usually released in several formats and different versions as the primary sources used by a group for a particular movie may vary. Pirated movies are primarily released by these organized groups, commonly referred to as scene groups or warez groups. The first release of a movie is usually of a lower quality due to a lack of sources, but is eventually replaced with higher-quality releases as better sources become available.