Read the copyright and download issue When you buy music legally, there is usually a copyright mark somewhere on the product. Stolen music generally does not carry any trademark or copyright notice. In any case, copyright law still applies. A creative work protected by copyright does not have to be marked as such to be protected by law. “Copyright allows the owner to control the reproduction, display, distribution, and performance of a protected work” (Corley, Moorehead, Reed, & Shedd, 2004). Example: A person wants the new Rolling Stones CD or maybe they're trying to make a nice music compilation to play at a party. For many people, it's as simple as opening one of the many peer-to-peer file sharing programs, selecting tracks, downloading them, and burning them to a CD-ROM. What is not so simple about downloading music are the copyright protection laws that people break every day by downloading some music from the Internet. In fact, a person is breaking the law simply by downloading music files if the person or network they are downloading from does not have permission from the copyright holder. “Copyright gives ownership to a certain creative work that prevents others from reproducing it without the owner's permission. – The work must be fixed in a tangible medium of expression such as a book, a canvas, a compact disc, a tape or a computer disk” (Corley, Moorehead, Reed, & Shedd, 2004). “Copyright is a form of protection founded in the United States Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works” (US Copyright Office, 2008). Copyright Law “Copyright law protects 'works of authorship.' The Copyright Act states that... halfway through...."The Digital Millennium Copyright Act makes it illegal to attempt to circumvent the devices used by copyright owners to prevent their works from being infringed: l 'act will be used to prevent the manufacture, marketing, or sale of a product or service designed to circumvent the technological protection of software, video, and compact discs' (Corley, Moorehead, Reed, & Shedd, 2004). References Corley, R.N., Moorehead, J.W., Reed, O.L., & Shedd, P.J., (2004). The legal and regulatory context of companies. The real estate system. Human resources systems. The McGraw-Hill Companies. University of Phoenix (2008). Legal concepts worksheet. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from University of Phoenix, Week One rEsource.US Copyright Office, (2008). Frequently asked questions about copyright in general. Retrieved June 2, 2008, from http://www.copyright/gov