ABSTRACT
In the United States, Europe, and Asia, illegal online file sharing has resulted in billions of dollars of losses for many companies and many lawsuits by trade groups, government agencies, and entertainment companies. Illegal file sharing affects the economics, profitability, and business models of companies in many industries such as entertainment, education, travel, news, sports, investments/finance, and any business where information has value. The issue involves various policy, legal, technological, and economic problems that have not yet been resolved. This chapter introduces optimal strategies for owners and legitimate distributors of digital content-in terms of the optimal conditions for and the amount of effort to be allocated to reduction of illegal online file sharing.
