Copyright infringement and users of P2P networks in multimedia applications: The case of the U.S. Copyright regime

This paper discusses certain copyright infringement issues regarding the liabilities of P2P network users. These issues are applicable to most P2P multimedia transmissions, as multimedia works are increasingly generating copyright disputes. The discussions will focus on the liabilities of both the distributors and end-users of P2P software via copyright law. The reason why the operations of P2P networks conflict with the regulations of copyright law is not complicated; the current copyright law evaluates infringement responsibilities via a simple copyrighted works distribution and usage dichotomy classification, and the application of P2P networks exceeds this classification. However, the copyright law was written during an analog era, and the interpretations of infringement were designed to target those who were making copies of cassettes and compact disks. A new regulation concerning digital file transactions is required; without it, due to the vagueness of the copyright law, more and more “innocent infringers” will be trapped by this pitfall called copyright protection and industries applying P2P network operations are directly threatened by trends of copyright impetus.