By Brian Choi
An online distribution of copyrighted materials through P2P network is one of major legal issues today. While several P2P users have been fined severely for a violation of a copyright law, an illegal file sharing within the P2P network still continues to thrive, and the effectiveness of the punishment against P2P users is often questioned. In this paper, I examine why P2P networks prosper in spite of government’s heavy punishment schemes. Then I model the optimal decision of the P2P user as a non-cooperative game and find out how effectively legal sanction reduces an illegal online distribution of copyrighted materials.
Advisor: Huseyin Yildirim