Are Torrents and Free Downloads Illegal?

[newfiegirl 110]

Tricky question actually, as it depends on the media being downloaded. I have seen a couple of webseries that actually ask you to distribute them to help get them noticed. some musicians put up their songs for free download...again not illegal. So the question is really dependent on the material in question and is subject to change.

 

[Lem0nade Inlay]

I always though that Torrents are legal, but actually downloading and/or distributing the copyrighted material ON torrents is illegal.
If they're copyrighted and protected by law.

 

[Normalgamer]

Torrents and free downloads ARE NOT ILLEGAL

When someone says "I am downloading a torrent" Or "I am downloading an album for free" It doesn't instantly make them a pirate, nor are they doing anything illegal. WoW updater, for instance, uses a system like torrents to share downloads. Their are also TV shows, music, films and games that people give away for free on torrents. Now with that out the way:

Yes, it's technically illegal, no it won't ever go away, yes the entertainment industries need to keep up with the times. No I don't care that it's illegal, nor do I care that it's immoral.

So you don't care that your giving the biggest finger to your favorite bands/Movies/Etc etc?
Your okay with going "I love your product! So much in-fact I am going to rip it off of you!"

 

[manaman]

snip

What? I'm right. If you're talking morals, that's a different ballpark, but legally, I'm right. Read the EULA of the next piece of software you buy; you've only purchased the right to use it, not the copy itself. It's shit, but true.

Several of the more restrictive EULA clauses have not held up in court. One of the reasons why they have not really tried to to enforce the "only using a copy" clause in the EULA.

 

[manaman]

Several of the more restrictive EULA clauses have not held up in court. One of the reasons why they have not really tried to to enforce the "only using a copy" clause in the EULA.

I'm glad that is the case. We're still not allowed backups though, right?

It most certainly is in the US.

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-digital.html

 

[Loop Stricken]

As far as I'm aware it's not illegal (The torrent system itself being entirely legal, just a transmission method really), but it may be unlawful or infringement, which are different things.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

It's illegal in many countries. Specifically, any countries that enforce international copyright laws.

 

[Lyri]

Torrents are legal, I could make a torrent with a notepad document sayin hi and distribute it and nobody would bat an eyelid.
If I put in the latest game, well then I'd be crossing the line.

Torrents and "free downloads" are content dependant.

 

[darkfire613]

Fair use states that you have the right to use the media for your own personal, non-commercial use. This means no sharing either, so technically even burning a friend a disc or lending them an original CD for them to rip is illegal. If you were lending them a CD, movie, or book, but they didn't make a copy and you didn't have use of the media during that time, that's permissible.

 

[Loop Stricken]

It's illegal in many countries. Specifically, any countries that enforce international copyright laws.

Copyright infringement is not illegal.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

It's illegal in many countries. Specifically, any countries that enforce international copyright laws.

Copyright infringement is not illegal.

It is if you reside in a nation that enforces international copyright laws. If you do not, then infringe away I suppose.

Of course, even this is a fairly simple view on the subject. One could live in a nation that enforces some laws but not others for example.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Depends on the country. Downloading music in Canada is legal, but distributing it isn't. So if you only leech and don't seed, you technically be safe from the law.

You got me thinking about Pokemon... Leech seed...

Anyway, while Downloading remains legal, I'm more concerned about Bill C-32. I will be very angry if ripping my CD's becomes a crime.

Andy explains it better than I do. Let's just hope the government doesn't try to restrict downloading too.

Spoiler: Goodbye Mr Chips (Tuesday's article)

[link]http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/the-needles/7832-The-Needles-Goodbye-Mr-Mod-Chips[/link]

 

[Loop Stricken]

It's illegal in many countries. Specifically, any countries that enforce international copyright laws.

Copyright infringement is not illegal.

It is if you reside in a nation that enforces international copyright laws. If you do not, then infringe away I suppose.

Whether it enforces them or not, infringement is not illegal.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

Well, depends. If it isn't supposed to be free, then yeah it is illegal. I have seen some things that offer their stuff for free through torrents, like bands for example. I've seen probably half a dozen bands upload their music in free-to-download torrents so people would hear about them...

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

It's illegal in many countries. Specifically, any countries that enforce international copyright laws.

Copyright infringement is not illegal.

It is if you reside in a nation that enforces international copyright laws. If you do not, then infringe away I suppose.

Whether it enforces them or not, infringement is not illegal.

If you have a law, and it is enforced, then the act is, by simple definition, illegal. I don't see where the confusion lies here to be honest.

Either we are debating totally different things or I'm being trolled.

 

[jcm0791]

Tricky question actually, as it depends on the media being downloaded. I have seen a couple of webseries that actually ask you to distribute them to help get them noticed. some musicians put up their songs for free download...again not illegal. So the question is really dependent on the material in question and is subject to change.

I agree; it varies with the content.

So, what do we make of a torrent of a TV show which was air broadcast?

I think that if it were torrented with the adds intact it should be considered fine (not IS but should be) If it were torrented with the adds edited out ... hmmmm, tougher call technically, you could do the same with a PVR but it is a grayer area. A show from HBO or other cable source is stealing, but not so much from HBO as from the local cable / satellite provider. The difference being that revenue is directly affected in the latter case and indirectly in the former.

That said, if the theory that "air broadcast" means that the broadcaster has released the information into the world and therefore has relinquished rights to it is deemed reasonable then is it acceptable to record that information in a torrent because it was freely available in the first place? What then happens when the signal leaves the satellite, as even cable TV does at some point in its journey to you, has it become public domain for you to manipulate as you see fit? (As in decrypt)

What then becomes of our beloved Escapist? If we were to make all of the videos available from another source without all the advertising then we would be stealing from the advertisers who paid to bring it to you ... I hope we can all agree that this would be wrong. What would happen if The Escapist videos were released via torrent with the advertising intact? Would you consider that to be illegal or merely wrong on some other level?