Copyright laws have existed for a considerable period of time and have been adapted to meet current needs - an era of digital information. It is now easier than ever before to access and share information on the internet. The ease in accessibility has led to massive copyright infringements as people are quick to download content that they did not create without a second thought.

This is indeed quite challenging for authors, right holders, and even governments who seek to protect the intellectual property rights of individuals while facilitating free flow of information and technology transfer - all at once.

Modern forms of infringement take many shapes due largely because any act can be an infringement if it goes against the exclusive rights granted by copyright law without permission from the author or owner.

In this sense, modern forms encompass wide ranges: online piracy being one where people download music or movies illegally through the internet; another example would be social media platforms such as Facebook where users share posts that contain copyrighted images without obtaining authorization from the owner first.

Online piracy is a term used to define the illegal sharing, reproduction, or distribution of content protected by copyright law online. This ranges from movies and music to TV shows, eBooks, software, and games. Pirates find haven in various sites: those that offer torrents plus others that allow file sharing - where these copyrighted materials are distributed unlawfully without approval from creators or rights owners.

Free riders can freely obtain such materials for zero cost or at a fractional rate; this has led to weakening the legal market for digital media and impeding innovators from reaping where they sow.

Streaming services have forever changed how viewers entertain themselves. Yet some corners of the internet provide copyrighted content sans the proper licensing or authorization, disguised under the realm of "free" or "unlimited" movies, shows, sports or music. It defies rights holders' exclusive entitlement and efforts to quash these platforms only beget more - a relentless game for copyright policing authorities.

New ones evolve even after wiping out established names; it's like cutting heads off a hydra for those in charge of copyright enforcement: they never seem to run out of this digital monster emerging from cyberspace.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing networks allow users to exchange digital files directly without any intermediaries. Although P2P technology is not necessarily illegal, the fact that it is misused at a high level for sharing copyrighted material without permission has led to numerous copyright violation cases.

BitTorrent plus eDonkey are some of the common platforms used by individuals to share movies, music albums, software applications - creative works often subjected to legal actions against both users and operators of these websites.

Social media has been termed a user-generated content paradise where all forms of art pictures, videos, music and written works can find home and wide distribution. However, when unauthorized copyrighted material makes its way onto these platforms (think Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or TikTok) it becomes an issue of copyright infringement.

Users innocently repost or share the copyrighted work without due permission or crediting the originator - a violation of the owner's exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute or display publicly any works they own. Rights holders have now turned to automated content recognition systems coupled with takedown notices as enforcement mechanisms on social media platforms.

In a world where luxury items can easily be counterfeited online through fake designer clothes plus accessories and even electronics (thanks to the internet), we see a huge proliferation in counterfeit goods - further exacerbated by use of auction sites plus social media platforms for sale promotion.

These imitations infringe trademarks, copyrights and patents held by genuine manufacturers thereby creating serious health risks apart from just financial losses that unwitting consumers may suffer after buying what they thought were original products sold at low prices on various online platforms.

Plagiarism is the act of stealing another person's work without any credit to the original creator. In today's world this can take many forms, like copying text directly off a webpage or paper and not acknowledging where you got it from. There are software programs that help educational institutions and businesses catch people who do this.

Stealing software is called piracy when you make copies of programs or games without permission it breaks the law. People steal these things by downloading them for free instead of buying them, or using fake codes to unlock them even though they haven't paid. Software companies try different ways to stop this theft, but there will always be clever people who find new tricks to get what they want.

DRM technologies aim to curb unauthorized copying and distribution plus use of digital materials. Yet some people or organizations come up with ways of going around these technologies, breaching DRM systems so as to obtain or even change copyrighted material without authority. This can entail breaking down the software protection measures, dismantling the copying limitations, or decoding the anti-encryption policies through reverse engineering in order to be able to sidestep what is supposed to be protected by the DRM restrictions.

The issue of DRM circumvention challenges then arises: as it compromises the integrity of mechanisms intended for copyright protection which would have otherwise safeguarded content creators, rights owners and even those involved in digital content distribution.

Copyright infringement in modern days is not easy to overcome through a mono-directional way. It requires both the legal frameworks and technology solutions; as well as industry cooperation and public awareness campaigns. Legislators should create regulations that would act as effective deterrence of copyright violation yet uphold the rights of creators and consumers. Law enforcement needs appropriate tools to be able to go deep into the investigation of copyright violations and their prosecution.

The digital platforms are supposed to come up with the proper mechanisms that will stop copyright infringements on their platforms. And finally, educating the public on copyright law, ethical consumption of content, importance of respecting intellectual property rights can lead us towards fostering culture - not only creativity but innovation too - based upon legal compliance in this age where we live digitally is very much needed for this kind of era.

Written By: Md.Imran Wahab, IPS, IGP, Provisioning, West Bengal
Email: [email protected], Ph no: 9836576565