I have a question regarding the use of a P2P program. I understand that it's illegal if you download a movie off of a P2P program such as Kazaa. What about TV Shows? What is the difference between recording, for example a couple episode of friends, compared to downloading those exact same episodes to watch later on and then delete it after you are done... Thanx
While it doesn't seem like much difference, it's illegal. The copyright holder has the right to say how their show can be distributed and I don't know of any besides some older BBC shows that allow legal downloads. I guess they want to keep their sponsors happy, I mean why would they pay a lot of money for advertising when you can download a copy off the internet sans commercials? Also older shows have became another revenue source so they want to maintain control of the content.
So recording tv shows is okay though, right? So I can go ahead and record all the friends seasons they play on tv...right?
yes you can so long as they are for private use i.e you dont air them again in public or try and sell them
Ah but then you could debate that the downloaded TV shows were for private use i mean how can they prove there not? Unless you sell them there's not much to worry about. In the case of the BBC (a UK station) they don't have much of a say since it is funded by the people of Scotland, England & Wales even if it wasn't legal you could argue that your not doing anything wrong since you pay a TV license that founds them, it's a tricky subject that is usually determined by who has the better lawyer
@ p4_tt it is a different issue with downloading beacause they don't conrol the distribution of the program. whereas on the box they air out whichever programs they choose. example. i live in england. and the series 'lost' only started about 8 week ago. yet on the day of the first episode i had downloaded all 20 odd episodes in HDTV quality. they haven't distributed it to me and so in the court of law i am stealing it, am i not?
Yes that is true, but there's no way there gonna take you to a court of law because there only interested in the people that upload and/or sell the the stuff, you could fully argue that you had every intention of using the film for private use only they cant prove otherwise. You could also argue that the place you downloaded them should be held responsible since there are the ones that illegally distributed the files to you.
Okay, so if I want to for example watch friends season 10. Can I just download it for private use, watch it, then delete it once I'm done?
You shouldn't but who's going to know? Just remember you take a risk every time you download something you shouldn't. Edit: second that ddp.
WHat is the real chance for someone getting caught and being prosecuted for downloading? Is the rate high?
no when you consider the millions of people downloading & maybe a thousand or so people being charged, you figure the odds out of being caught.
I would say if ya live in the US then there chances are higher than anywhere else since the US have those very nice people called the RIAA/MPAA
This comes to the question of borrowing a movie or a DVD from a friend. How does that come in play. I mean in everydays life someone goes to their friends house and finds a dvd movie they haven't seen. Borrowing and watching, is it legal?
So it's illegal to even borrow movies from your friends? That is whack man. This system is flawed... What about Blockbuster. They lend movies to make cash...
