Hi, I have noticed that P2P wizard's Bit Torrent have come up with Bit Lord Pro: http://www.usenext.de/index.cfm?sExtToken=bitl&TD=364968 it says on that site that when you download files, your IP address is hidden for ultimate privacy- does this mean that you cannot get caught for downloading files on it? I have also noticed that it says that this program does not share any files with other people- I saw an article on the BBC newspage on Monday of a Japanese man who has been improsioned for sharing and uploading 3 movies without a liscence. I am considering downloading The Office Series 2. This is because I have purchased the disc before, however it has become damaged and unplayable. If I were to download it off Bit Torrent- would this be legal? I was under the understanding that as long as you owned the movie/ song/ software- it is legal to download them off P2P sharing program for what ever reason you needed to? Cheers all, Skribla
Using bittorrent to transfer files is not illegal, per se. But using bittorrent to transfer materials that are copyrighted is copyright infringement and that is illegal.
I'm not sure of the UK equivilent of copyright in TV series, but over here such a thing would be illegal (even though the public technically owns the airwaves, the big companies have a stranglehold on everything).
Well..the chances of getting caught are fairly low, but I'm not endorsing it...as with Emulators, if you own the original you are allowed to under the license, AFAIK, but I do not know if this applies to DVDs/TV Shows.
I'm not sure if the same applies to DVDs but you are legally allowed to download copies of something you own or make as many as you like, so long as you keep them all yourself, as soon as you begin giving them away, it becomes illegal.
Right. But none of us are lawyers, so none of this is legal advice. You'll have to do a little research on your local laws to know for sure.
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-5128652.html http://www.drmwatch.com/legal/article.php/3501261 the above links might help.
As long as you can prove you own the series on DVD it would be legal. You may still get a letter from the MPAA or your ISP if you get caught downloading the program but if they were to take you to court you would win under the fair use doctrine. As far as backing up a DVD yourself you could find yourself in trouble, because of the copy protection involved you are actually violating the DMCA. So as long as you've downloaded a copy protection stripped version and not actually removed the protection yourself your ok, but if you rip your own movies your breaking the law. Makes alot of sense doesn't it .
To all who are interested in copyrights etc. You might find this artical interesting. http://www.out-law.com/page-4168 I think, and I could be wrong, that what it means tht in the UK, at least, making copies of copyrighted material is illegal even for personal use. Very true AT. I would suggest to pack the whole idea in. Better safe than sorry. Do not download original, copyrighted material from the internet. This is concedered pirate material and you could find yourself in a lot of trouble. Some forums would have locked this discussion by now or worst, banned you. It is tough luck that your copy got damaged. If you want to keep on the right side of the law, it is down to the shop to get a new one....
BTW you may want to try contacting the distributor for the DVD. Quite often if you can prove you've purchased the product they will send you a replacement for quite a bit less than the original product and I've even seen a few send out a replacement for free. The link to the 321 Studios case was settled quite a while ago. 321 Studios is still allowed to sell the software they did have to remove the code that allowed CSS to be removed however.
I did not post the link to the artical to show what happened with 321. This is completely irelevant (pardon the spelling). It was more for the reference regarding british and american law. As far as I know british law is still the same. You are not allowed to make back-ups of copyrited media (unless you have been given permission by the artist), let alone get hold of a copy someone else made (like when you download from anywhere, or buy it of a dodgy geeza' down Camden market!).
My Personal view is that if you own an origional copy (a legal copy) then you should be allowed to make as many backups as you want, Allthough i would only make one and keep it in a separate building (not to be used by anyone else [im happy with that being illegal]) Just think if there was a fire, Its bad enuf to lose you £800 computer but losing all of your software/games is just another kick in the :swear: that i will do without. Anyway, if you make a personal backup and KEEP it a personal backup how are they (the copyright owners) going to find out??? SO, See if you can find a friend with the office dvd's and copy the discs that YOU OWN!!! you said your discs wont play, if you can 'read' them try making copys of thoose dics first [321 do a package that can retrive data off damaged discs]
ok cheers i wil try that- would downloading the file off the internet be illegal then? I was under the impression that by me owning the DVD I have a liscence and therfore can make a back up copy if I wish as long as it is for personal use and I am not handing it out/ selling it to other people
My personal view si that it falls under acceptable use, as you own the product but cannot use it. I seriously doubt (the chances are around zero) that you will have to explain your actions to anyone. Its a little 'grey area' where depending who you are (consumer or copyright owner) depends on your view (Copyright owner wants lots of money, you just want to be able to use your stuff!) Ps, I dont think that your IP address is 'hidden' as such..... im guesing its more that you (the user) cant see other peoples IP addresses without writing/using custom software. I have PM you the rest of this post, and the information in it would tell p2p pirates how to avoid being caught (although it is unlikely that they will)
Not true, when you get a DVD you are not agreeing to any form of EULA, since there is no such thing present on the DVD, it tells you about copyright but there is no part where you say that you agree, unlike with software, when you buy software you are buying the licence to own it and make a personal backup if you wish to. DVDs and such are different, because there is nothing that says "By agreeing to this...." so there is no actual EULA, therefore, no licence.
OK. I have found a page which details the British copyright law here - http://www.answers.com/topic/copyright-law-of-the-united-kingdom To skribla I would suggest - If you are really bothered about the law and staying on the right side of it, have a good read. As with most legal documents it is highly dry and boring. However, if you can make sense of the language, it will give you a clear picture of what you can or cannot do with copyrighted material. It also defines what copyrighted material is. To end my contribution to this post I would definitely ‘air on the side of caution’. Do not download protected TV programs, movies, music or software using any sort of P2P program. We all know it is explicitly illegal or in some way, considered illegal. It is not worth the risk and screws the makers of such materials. I always find it quite amusing; the lengths people would go to, to justify piracy….
Didn't even notice that, I have no idea how that link got in there I wasn't even trying to post one, and when I goto edit it it isn't even showing a url tag for me weird. I'm not sure about British law but I know at least in Canada & the US you can back up a program as long as you don't tamper with or remove copy protection. Hence the reason 321 Studios was allowed to continue to offer their software once they removed the decss code.
