Internet Piracy and Consequences for Victims

Abstract

After the evolution of technology made it possible to perform actions via the Internet that constitute copyright violations, the analysis of the effects of internet piracy on social welfare became the subject of academic polemics. The main and the biggest victims of Internet piracy are the holders of copyright and related rights, however, the damage that piracy causes them comes from multiple sources, is difficult to quantify and is only a part of the total social cost of piracy. However, there are other categories of victims, such as those whose honor was besmirched as a result of piracy, and who suffer the consequences in the form of negative emotional reactions, loss of job as well as those who subsequently commit suicide. The object of this paper is to describe the effects of internet piracy on the victims of this phenomenon, and the goal is the analysis of the various direct and indirect effects of piracy on victims and their motivation for future creation, as well as analysis of prevention measures, with special emphasis on the Republic of Serbia.