Copyright infringement

Copyright infringement (or copyright violation) is the use of material which is covered by copyright law, in a way that violates one of the original copyright owner's "exclusive rights", such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it. The slang term bootleg (from the use of boots to smuggle items) is often used to describe illegally copied material.

Some people call illegally copying movies and music, "piracy" or "theft". Richard Stallman says people should not call copying and distribution "piracy", because piracy is robbery with attacking ships, killing and stealing people, and owners of copyright use the word to say that such copying is as evil as piracy.^[1] Some courts say that the word "piracy" may be used, but the word "theft" may not be used.^[2] When people use the word "piracy" for copyright infringement, it usually means "selling of many copies without permission", but sometimes any "big copyright infringement".

1. ↑ "Words to Avoid (or Use with Care) Because They Are Loaded or Confusing - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation (FSF)". Archived from the original on 2012-02-03. Retrieved 2011-05-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. ↑ For example, see Dowling v. United States, 473 U.S. 207 (1985), et al.