Theres nothing innocent about the word downloading nowadays. Several years back when Pentium Pro?, Windows 95? and 28.8 kbps modems were the buzzword in the computer world, downloading was just a method for people to get free or trial software (applications, games, documents etc.) off some website or ftp site. Less than a decade later, downloading has almost become synonymous with piracy as its function extended into shady areas neighboring on the unlawful. Three factors contributed to this trend. Computer chips, having to answer to Moores Law, have sped up exponentially. Broadband internet connections which makes downloading of sizeable files at faster rates, are now commonplace. That takes care of the hardware and data conduit aspect. On the software side of things, the arrival of peer-to-peer and torrent applications have unquestionably made it easier for people to download bootlegged video, music and software among other things. This is the golden age of digital piracy.
The fact that the internet traverses both borders and cultures, laws that are in effect in one country becomes ineffective and even useless in another. Whats more obvious is a difference in...