The legal issues in file sharing involve violation of copyright laws as digital copies of copyrighted materials are transferred between users.
The application of national copyright laws to peer-to-peer and file sharing networks is of global significance. Peer-to-peer ("P2P") technology allows people worldwide to share files and data, and since this includes some that is subject to copyright, it has been targeted by rights holders, although peer-to-peer networks can be used for legitimate purposes.