ACTA and Internet Counterfeiting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

ACTA and Internet Counterfeiting - Essay Example As an e-commerce medium, it is used as a payment medium through PayPal, VISA and other online payment systems. Moreover, it is the medium through which softcopy products like eBooks, software, online courses and other products are delivered. Since most of these activities involve transmission of sensitive information about people and more so customers, the information passing through the internet is encrypted such that the information encoded by the server can only be decoded by the client’s terminal and vice versa (Illing and Peitz, 2006: 102). This means that information being transmitted over encrypted networks cannot be accessed by third parties. This security property of the internet is priceless since it helps to sustain the faith that suppliers and consumers have on the internet; however, it also poses one of the major challenges in regulation of content being transmitted over the internet. It enables the internet to be used for transmission of information, a large port ion of which is unauthorised for electronic transmission (Biagi, 2011). Such information includes transmission of age-inappropriate content, rumours and propaganda that may undermine peace and stability, and copyrighted material. Censorship for inappropriate content can be easily implemented at a country or state level; however, transmission of copyrighted material like music, eBooks and software is hard to control since sharing networks entails use of multiple servers located all over the globe (Hertwig and Maus, 2010: 60). This necessitates the adoption of a common regulatory system, whereby countries work together to enforce antipiracy regulations. This essay discusses the effects of internet infringement of property rights and copyrights and discusses the adoption of ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement), especially in the European Union. Technical Factors Historically duplication of copyrighted materials has always happened; however, the internet offered a channel that mad e the process quite easy to achieve with little skill level. Moreover, the vastness of the internet and its high rate of growth make any attempt to control its content an exercise in futility. Moreover, the technical knowledge of computer networking specialists gives them the ability to bypass any efforts by regulators, which is the main reason for proliferation of illegal websites (Woodsworth, 2010: 185). Moreover, developments in the information technology sector resulted in the proliferation of highly efficient but cheap IT equipment, which increased the number of servers, terminals and other devices beyond the scope of regulatory bodies. In order to cover the increased usage of the internet for illegal purposes, all stakeholders had to be incorporated in the process, which was the main motive of the implementers of ACTA. The other factor that leads to a high proliferation of computer piracy of software and other copyrighted materials is the capacity of network connections to wor k in both directions, such that information flows to or from a terminal in the same way it does to a server. This allows network terminals like workstations, personal computers and other devices to be used as sources of data, especially as used in peer-to-peer protocols like BitTorrent (Hunnewell and Garlick, 2007). These networks allow users to share data in their computers with other users without the need for a server; which makes it almost impossible to detect the circulation of copyrighted material since pieces of the software or other content are usually spread throughout the terminals in the networks. In this case, remarkably

Machiavelli Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Machiavelli - Term Paper Example Thus, the people who are motivated by fear rather than any instinct to oppose the prince’s insight are disposed to honor the ends of the ruler however he wishes to pursue his goals through his legitimate power whether by ideal or mischievous political design (Machiavelli). Apparently, it is most suitable to acknowledge that Machiavelli requires a type of leader who fulfils his selfish interest by an â€Å"invisible hand† of unintended consequences in which the citizens manage to gain their own advantage by the course of nature despite the prince’s real yet unknown intention of acquiring power to its absolute extent. On behalf of stable princely rule, hence, one may well justify how Machiavelli fits in a â€Å"Republican† status though such identity becomes modified as he exhibits the role of a tactician who believes that the greater majority ought to benefit according to the projected ends of state progress. Implicitly, though the prince has nothing to do with this yet he have prudence to show and if the people of the state were to obtain prosperity by coincidence, it should not be permitted to transpire always, only most of the time. In view of the proposition where â€Å"the ends justify the means†, Machiavelli likely points out that politics, no matter which paths are taken, good or evil, as maneuvred by the prince must yield to the stability of his government, or more specifically, the foundations upon which his powers rest. Anything or anyone that threatens such ultimate end form materializing the prince is expected to have as far removed from him as possible while in the process of maintaining and expanding the realms of his potentials and authorities altogether. At whatever cost, the deliberate goal of the means is to secure a political power for the prince to enable him to execute tasks toward the favor of satisfying his subsequent desires. The citizens, the ideals, and the rest