ABSTRACT
This book is intended for university professors, PhD researchers in industry (computer science, theoretical economic psychology, and operations research), and PhD-level policy analysts in government. Illegal online file sharing (IOF) has resulted in millions of dollars of losses for many companies and substantial lawsuits by trade groups and entertainment companies.1 Illegal downloads affect the economics, profitability, and business models of companies in many industries such as entertainment, education, travel, investments/finance, and any business where knowledge has value. In the United States, the Napster case illustrates some of the policy, technological, and economic issues inherent in systems for downloading content. The volume of file sharing continues to grow despite lawsuits and criminal prosecution (by the Recording Industry Association of America and other trade groups), introduction of new digital rights management (DRM) systems and legal content downloading portals. However, video traffic has become a larger component of Internet traffic.
