After some research, I found out that the punishment for copyright infringement can be a little extensive. For instance, I was not aware that if you were caught illegally downloading, the maximum fine is $250,000 and 5 years in prison. Now, you may be thinking why on earth is the punishment so harsh? I asked the same question. In my research I found that it is because people make a living off of the money that is used to purchase songs online. If you illegally download a song, someone is not getting paid for their job. An article that I found here talks about a 15-year-old boy from Sweden who was turned in to police by the principal of his school for putting downloaded movies on filesharing websites. The boy was taken to court but was found innocent. Keep in mind this took place in Sweden. If it had taken place in the U.S., the boy, or his parents rather, may have had to pay some type of fine. The boy in Sweden had no punishment which I do not think is entirely fair because he committed Copyright Infringement which is still a crime, and he should have some sort of consequence.
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