that copyrights laws are outdated, confusing, and unable to handle the almost daily changes in digital technologies that threaten intellectual property protection. Showing the dangers of being unaware of such laws as the DMCA, Napster was recently closed down, and then found guilty of copyright infringement by a federal appeals court judge. It now operates a greatly modified version of its former site. Possibly Napster IT managers were unaware of the anti-circumvention provision of the DMCA, which says “If you develop tools or distribute tools designed to help you hack around a copyright protection system, then you are potentially committing a criminal act” (Raeburn 8). One of the most difficult problems for IT managers is the lack of uniformity and standardization both with digital copyright protection law and digital technologies and services.
From a moral standpoint, IT managers must understand the costly damage they could do to their companies if they fail to ensure the protection of copyrighted intellectual property. This is true in terms of losing revenues like the music industry, as well as inviting public scrutiny and criticism for failing to secure valuable information. So, too, companies like Napster whose IT managers circumvent copyright law fail to recogni
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