Software piracy is one of the most rampant problems plaguing the information technology space. Unfortunately, short of explicitly controlling what users do on the Internet, there is no ideal way to remedy the problem. People want as much as they can get for free, while product creators have a right to compensation for their work. One of the newer solutions to come about is the decriminalisation of piracy altogether and imposing a ‘copyright tax’. Essentially, this would be a surcharge of some sort on the use of an Internet-based service (e.g. an addition to one’s Internet bill). Through this method, copyright owners would receive compensation from these levies and free content for everyone would be provided online.

Like any solution, this idea has its share of merits and detriments. For example, what if you do not pirate software? Why should you pay extra? How do you determine a fair tax and how much do copyright owners get paid? Clearly these are not the only issues argued by policy makers and Internet users; thus for this Discussion, your challenge is to further analyse the advantages and disadvantages of completely decriminalising piracy and associated copyright taxes.

To complete this Discussion:

Post: Create an initial post in which you evaluate the feasibility of decriminalising piracy and imposing a copyright tax. Base your evaluation on an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of decriminalising piracy. Be sure to explain how/why such a policy would affect both Internet users and copyright owners alike.