What Is Online Piracy?

Online piracy is defined by where it happens. Any infringement that relies on the internet to reach its audience falls under it: a streaming site, a torrent index, a Telegram channel, an app on a streaming stick, a social video, a marketplace listing for a pirated PDF. The term separates it from physical piracy such as counterfeit discs, and its most useful feature for enforcement is that it depends on other businesses to function.

The services a pirate site cannot run without

A typical pirate site needs a domain from a registrar, hosting for the site and often separate hosting for the files, usually a delivery network or reverse proxy in front, search engines to bring traffic, and advertising networks or payment processors to make money. Some also rely on app stores or social platforms for promotion. Each of these is run by a company with terms of service and, in many cases, legal obligations once it is told about infringement. That chain of intermediaries is what makes online piracy possible, and it is also where it can be disrupted.

Notice and takedown as the default route

Most online enforcement runs through notice-and-takedown systems. In the United States, the DMCA sets out a process for notifying service providers; the EU and other regions have their own frameworks with different requirements. A notice identifies the work, the location of the material and the basis for the complaint, and the provider decides whether to remove it. Where hosts do not respond, rights holders turn to other intermediaries or to courts, which in some countries can order internet providers to block access to sites. What a valid notice must contain and how counter-notices work vary by jurisdiction and by platform.

Online piracy and digital piracy are not identical

The two terms are often used interchangeably. Digital piracy covers any unauthorised copying of digital content, including files moved on USB drives or loaded onto devices before sale. Online piracy is the part that depends on internet services. The distinction is practical: online piracy can be reached through notices because there is an intermediary to notify, while offline digital copies usually need action against sellers, or customs and police involvement.

Using the infrastructure as a set of options

Because online piracy relies on so many services, enforcement works best when it treats them as alternatives. A link that keeps returning may be better handled at the host. A host that ignores notices may be reachable through its upstream provider. A site that survives everything can still lose the traffic search was sending it once its pages are delisted. The fuller explanation is in online piracy and how it works.