Featured article: P2P file sharing and the law: a brief survey of legislation and jurisprudence

P2P file sharing and the law: a brief survey of legislation and jurisprudence
Brett J.L. Landry, University of Dallas, Irving, Texas, USA
Dinah Payne, University of New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
International Journal of Services and Standards 3(2) 2007, 169-187

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) applications are easy to use and pervasive at a variety of institutions, both public and private, business, governmental and academic. They cause major problems with the networks upon which they are applied: viruses, worms, spyware and adware can cause crippling congestion of the network resources. Additionally, P2P file sharing applications typically violate the copyright law, as well as create legal liability through the concepts found in tort law. This paper will present very basic definitions of P2P technology, a review of the pervasiveness of the use of IP2PFS and a brief survey of legal measures designed to prevent illegal usage.