Another big difference is the allocation of resources. If copyright infringment cases were still considered civil matters (as they should be) the responsibility for punishing infringers would lie in the hands of the copyright holders - not the FBI, police and taxpayers. Most of this essay is directed towards the issue of P2P file sharing, so doesn't it seem ironic that those very people prosecuting the file-sharers (the police) are paid not by the music industry, but by file-sharers themselves?

During the height of online music and file sharing, an estimated XXX million people downloaded music off the internet. "And why not?", they cried. Not only did the movement seem unstoppable, ("HA! They have no idea who I am!") but to many it even seemed just. In 200X, xxx, xxx, xxx, and xxx record companies were fined for illegal collusion to deliberately inflate the price of compact discs. They were fined a measly xxx million and required to give away xxx million worth of CDs back to the public. Hardly a punishment either, mainstream news media barely took a glance, and the free discs amounted to little more than a marketing stunt. And CD prices? Much the same as they were in 200X.