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EMule is the name for a software program that facilitates peer-to-peer download and plays a key role in online piracy. The clampdown on file-sharing websites has made life easier for some legal operators, but puts the street hawkers of DVDs back in business.. "Who's hurt most by online movie piracy?" I was asked this question while touring southern China early this year. Intuitively, it would seem to be the legal owners of the movies pirated, but it's more complex than that. As I was dithering, the guy who put me in the quandary laughed: "The correct answer is, the offline movie pirates - the disc makers." Ever since the Internet revolution entered phase two, counterfeiters have been feeling the pinch. People uploaded movies and television shows online in a feel-good spirit of sharing. They didn't care about making money, they just wanted to spread the joy. Profits be damned, as well as copyright issues. It wasn't that they were not aware they were doing something illegal. It was just that they possessed this sense of moral superiority. Chinese kids have long been taught that the ultimate goal of humanity is to achieve absolute equality and this means a free lunch for everyone. The West does not have this interpretation of communism, but when it comes to the sharing of copyrighted materials many seem to regard the law as an inconvenience that hinders technological and human progress. When the United States cracked down on the practice by issuing summonses on heavy-duty downloaders, the press did not hide its sympathy. It portrayed the entertainment businesses as a big bad wolf and the individual violators as simple people who meant no harm. For instance, there was the 85-year-old lady who downloaded without knowing what she was doing. | 
