What is Online piracy?
'''Online piracy''', also known as '''internet piracy''', is [[download]]ing and distributing [[copyright]]ed materials without having permission. The content includes [[software]], [[music]] and [[movie]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Internet Piracy|publisher=PC Mag|url=https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/internet-piracy|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> Internet piracy is illegal in many developed countries. However, it is widely practised due to the ease with which it can be done. The release of [[Napster]] in 1999 caused a rapid boom in the online piracy of movies, television and music. It always had a focus on music in the .MP3 format.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Napster Nightmare|publisher=ISP-Planet|url=http://www.isp-planet.com/politics/napster.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111019152028/http://www.isp-planet.com/politics/napster.html|access-date=May 24, 2021|archive-date=2011-10-19}}</ref> Napster permitted users to share content with [[peer-to-peer file sharing]]. It was one of the first mainstream uses of the distribution method. It was made easy for the regular users to get free music. The popular use of Napster was short lived, though. On July 27, 2000, it was ordered shut down by a federal [[judge]]. The following year, Napster was shut down.<ref>{{cite news|title=Napster Shut Down|publisher=ABC News|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=119627&page=1|access-date=May 24, 2021}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Copyright infringement]] {{stub}}