Without knowledge or understanding of IP rights, many people unwittingly and frequently infringe upon IP rights because they lack understanding of the implications associated with IP rights. The music industry has faced many challenges and opportunities associated with IP.  Words like “piracy” and stealing are commonly associated with the music industry in today’s society. Media executives and some recording artists insist that piracy is destroying those who create content. Some would argue that the growth of the internet has hurt the music industry and the economy and that the government should take a more active role in governing IP.  The United States government has done quite a bit of work on IP rights not only in the U.S. (Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act providing for an IP Enforcement Coordinator) but also with some international work.  For example, in 2002, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) reported that piracy cost the industry $ 4.3 billion . A recent article entitled “RIAA Commends Report By Leading Members Of Congress Citing Countries For Inadequate Intellectual Property Protections” states that congress is now calling for reforms in the global IP arena.  Mitch Banwol, Chairman and CEO of the Congressional International Anti-Piracy Caucus stated, “In these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever that the U.S. government take meaningful steps to ensure that the creative community can effectively compete in global markets without facing unfair competition.  New technologies fuel global innovation and enhance opportunities for America’s creativity to reach new audiences, but a lack of effective measures by certain countries to protect intellectual property online severely impairs creativity and the ability of the legal marketplace to reach its full potential.” To that end, an article on wired.com reported that in 2008, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported that 750,000 Americans are out of work because of intellectual property piracy, although some critics are still questioning the validity of the report.

Piracy and IP infringements happen regularly and unintentionally. Education is a necessity to inform people about IP. Most people understand the concept of stealing; however, many do not realize that information on the web is also a tangible item and can be an infringement. Microsoft released the results of a survey which indicated that teens were less likely to download illegally when they were aware of the laws surrounding IP. Key findings from "Teens Less Likely to Download When They Know the Laws, Microsoft Survey Finds" include the following:

• A lack of familiarity with the rules and guidelines for downloading from the Internet contributes to teen opinions that punishment is unnecessary.
• In general, teenagers regard illegal downloading over the Internet as less offensive than other forms of stealing.
• Teens rely on parents for rules on downloading.
• Teens are challenged by peer pressure and their wallets.

Additionally, Microsoft has launched "mybytes.com", to teach kids about intellectual property. The goal of the site is to educate and discourage children from illegally downloading and using copyrighted images, music, and movies. Microsoft has also created a teacher’s guide to teaching students about Intellectual Property. The program, entitled Digital Citizenship and Creative Content, strives to create digital citizens who are aware and respectful of IP rights. Other groups advocate education and respect for IP. One such group is Honour Intellectual Property of Singapore
(HIP).  The group promotes the notion that “it’s not file sharing, it’s stealing.”

Although some people are proponents of the governance of IP rights, some would argue that we should reduce the legal restrictions placed on copyrights and trademarks.  One such proponent is Larry Lessig.  Lessig, copyright attorney, founder of Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society, and board member of the Creative Commons Project, has focused on the problem of how law should govern the information and exchange of ideas in a digital age.  He has the notion that social media has impacted our society and copyright has to be changed as it stifles one’s creativity.  Many music artists are encouraging sharing of their records and songs. In fact, some artists see copying and sharing their music as free advertisement and actually encourage fans to burn and share their music.