What are the three main types of copyright infringement?

When people talk about copyright infringement, they automatically assume it’s a case of copying the work of another person and passing it off as one’s own, or using another company’s trademark for one’s business. While these are indeed cases of copyright infringement, this intellectual property violation is more than a stolen logo. Here are the three main types of copyright infringement.

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Piracy
Piracy has caused millions of dollars of revenue loss to several major corporations. Piracy is the unauthorized copying, production, distribution, and sale of goods that protected by copyright. These include anything from designer handbags to movies. Although the act of piracy has been condemned because of its intent toward financial gain, programs such as peer-to-peer sharing networks to download and distribute copyrighted content also fall under this category regardless if the content is for personal consumption and not for business purposes.

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Theft
Major corporations qualify the use of their logos without their consent as theft. Even in the absence of stolen physical properties, copyright infringement has occurred when an unauthorized entity uses logos with certain exclusive rights.

Freebooting
Freebooting was first used in the 16th century referring to act of looting or plundering done by pirates. But today, freebooting is a more recent term describing the unauthorized reproduction of online media such as videos and posting them on websites like Youtube or Facebook without giving attribution to the original content creator. The term is a combination of freeloading and bootlegging. Basically, freebooting is defined by a person uploading a video someone else made regardless if they profit from it or not.

Attorney Michael Melton is the founder of TME Enterprises, which owns, operates, and manages Taco Bell and Five Guys Burgers restaurants and commercial real estate. He is the largest African American Franchisee of Five Guys, owning two locations within the Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson Airport. For more reads regarding copyright infringement, visit this website.