互联网上电影侵权问题的过去、现在和将来 毕业论文外文翻译

原文Coming Soon to a P.C. Near You: The Past, Present, and Future of Movie Copyright Infringement on the Internetby Stephen BatesINTRODUCTIONThe latest Hollywood blockbuster just opened in theaters across the country today. You've seen the commercials. You have read the reviews. You have even stayed up well past midnight to watch the stars promoting the movie on late night talk shows. If you are like most people, to see this movie, you would probably drive down to your local Cineplex and dish out $9.00 for the flick. There are a growing number of movie fans, however, that save the gas money for the drive and their $9.00 and watch the same movie from the comfort of their home office on their personal computer for free. For years, the battle over copyright infringement on the Internet was between the music industry and software developers/users. Now, with advances in technology that allow full-length movies to be downloaded in as little as 2 hours, the motion picture industry has entered the fray. To survive, in a game of "keeping up with the Jones'," the motion picture industry must embrace the technology it has been fighting because current copyright laws offer them no protection.This paper will explore the growing popularity of movie piracy and the Internet's role in making it accessible to millions. Part I of this paper will give a brief overview of copyright law in general. Part II will trace the history of copyright infringement on the Internet and the lawmaker's response to this infringement. Part III will explore motion picture copyright infringement both offline and online. This paper will also discuss the present uses of technology to facilitate infringement, offer predictions for future copyright issues and provide possible solutions.I.BACKGROUND OF COPYRIGHT LAWThe Copyright Act of 1976 protects all "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Works of authorship include literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pictorial works, motion pictures, sound recordings and architectural works. Authors of such works have exclusive rights related to those works. These rights include the right to (1) reproduce the work; (2) prepare a derivative work; (3) distribute copies of the work; (4)perform the work publicly; (5) display the copyrighted work publicly; and (6) to perform a copyrighted sound recording publicly by means of a digital audio transmission. There are limitations, however, to an author's rights as well. Anyone who violates the rights of the author is an infringer against whom the author is entitled to bring an infringement action. The remedies available to the plaintiff include injunctions against the infringer, impounding of infringing articles, damages and profits, and costs and attorney's fees. Also, an infringer exposes himself to criminal penalties. A party can be found guilty of infringement in two ways: 1) direct Infringement and 2) infringement by a third party. Although he may not be liable for direct infringement, a party may be a third party infringer liable for the acts of another who is a direct infringer via the doctrines of contributory infringement and vicarious liability. A third party commits contributory infringement if he "with the knowledge of the infringing activity, induces, causes or materially contributes to the infringing conduct of another" or is vicariously liable if he "has the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity and also has a direct financial interest. As opposed to contributory infringement (which requires direct knowledge), in vicarious liability the defendant needs to only hold a financial interest. II. COPYRIGHT LAW AND THE INTERNETA. What is the Internet?The Internet "grew out of a U.S. Defense Department program called Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), established in 1969 with connections between computers at the University of California at Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, the University of California-Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah." Today the Internet is comprised of a computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computer networks that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission and exchange. Both public entities and private citizens own the computers and computer networks that comprise the Internet. "The resulting whole is a decentralized, global medium of communications - or "cyberspace" - that links people, institutions, corporations, and governments around the world." People access the Internet using personal computers connected directly to a local network or indirectly through the use of an Internet Service Provider (ISP)."The most common methods of communications on the Internet . can be roughly grouped into six categories: (1) one-to-one messaging (such as "e-mail"), (2) one to-many messaging (such as "listserv"), (3) distributed message databases (such as "USENET n