Digital Piracy on University Campuses: A Routine Activities Approach

• In Event: Fraud and Piracy in the Digital Age

Abstract

Copyright infringement represents a legal and practical challenge for universities and copyright holders alike. Despite this, little criminological research exists on digital piracy and factors that may contribute to reporting by copyright holders to universities and the subsequent responses by universities to these complaints. To begin to address this gap, a routine activities approach is applied to a unique new source of copyright infringement report data for a large public US university spanning five years. This research will seek to address the number of potential motivated offenders as a predictor of copyright infringement incidents, measured using reports by copyright holders. Policy and practical implications for the study of digital piracy and future research methodologies are proposed.

Author

• Sarah Appleby, University of Maryland - College Park