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Criminal Copyright Enforcement Against Filesharing Services, Benton C. Martin, Jeremiah R. Newhall
Criminal Copyright Enforcement Against Filesharing Services, Benton C. Martin, Jeremiah R. Newhall
Benton C. Martin
The high-profile prosecution of the popular online storage website Megaupload for criminal copyright infringement is the latest in a series of recent criminal prosecutions of online filesharing services. But what pushes a legitimate online file-storing business over the edge to criminal enterprise? How might criminal copyright enforcement differ materially from civil enforcement?
This article answers these questions and suggests guidelines for prosecutorial discretion. After a condensed history of criminal copyright law, we explain why "secondary" theories of infringement apply in the criminal, as well as civil, context and why the DMCA "safe harbor" defense is a red herring in criminal …