why is it legal to share a CD or DVD by allowing others to borrow it, but sharing by allowing others to download your copy is illegal?

what risks does file sharing pose to business owners?

what are the benefits of file sharing? Wiith all of the potential problems and liabilities, how can file sharing be a good thing?

should Grokster be held liable for its customers who use it to illegally trade music, movies and software?

can parents be held liable for copyright infringement if their children engage in illegal file sharing?

can an individual be held liable for downloading a copyrighted or illegal file if he did not KNOW it was copyrighted or illegal when he downloaded it?

This website is designed to teach you more about the legal issues implicated by file-sharing and offer some guidelines. The above questions are a small sample of the many legal issues arising from the use of file sharing. It is important to note that this website focuses primarily on U.S. copyright law. While non-copyright principles may also be mentioned, this website on does not attempt to examine other legal principles that might apply to P2P file sharing, including patent, trademark, trade secret, or unfair competition. This website is to be used solely for educational purposes. Nothing contained herein constitutes legal advice.

This website is the collaborative product of Deborah H. Gulledge and Tracy A. Smith, created for Professor Laura N. Gasaway’s Cyberspace Law Seminar at the University of North Carolina School of Law. Debbie and Tracy are currently 3rd year students at the University of North Carolina School of Law.