Nguyễn Đặng Duy Phúc – CFAB 3A WRITING ASSIGNMENT Choose one of these topics & write 280 – 300 words essay Topic: Whether or not you think it should be legal to download or share copyrighted material from the Internet It is true that considering the act of downloading or distributing copyrighted products from cyberspace is lawful or not has been a controversial topic for many years A lot of governments and media companies in the world classify these actions are illegal Personally, I partly agree with this view Firstly, uploading or downloading copyright-protected materials on the Internet would have many adverse effects on a great number of filmmakers, writers, musicians, and other innovative professionals who make their living by selling their works Those people will suffer from severe financial burdens if people share or distribute their materials on the Internet Therefore, in order to protect these artists, the law on copyright infringement has been enacted Consequently, copying, reproducing, or sharing products protected by copyright law from the web without the author’s permission is a crime Secondly, Internet piracy in films and music may have many negative impacts on the entertainment industry in terms of economic People who download and share copyright protection materials not understand or care about the financial loss to many businesses such as music companies For example, according to a new study from the US, global digital piracy costs the US film industry at least tens of billions of dollars annually If people continue to download movies and music from websites instead of paying to enjoy them, the whole production industry will have trouble surviving However, distributing copyrighted works on network platforms might provide its copyright holder with some benefits Internet is a place where people can easily access or acquire media files, thus the products will be more popular if the authors permit people to view and download their works for free In conclusion, although I somehow agree that distributing or sharing copyrighted materials is illegal, this act would be of benefit to artists Nguyễn Đặng Duy Phúc – CFAB 3A