mb Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 Just wondered - say there is a copyrighted file is it illegal to download it or is teh real crime the uploading of it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waylander Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 both Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 So technically would it be illeagal for me to lend a CD to someone or is it because the info is in 2 places at once that the problems start ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 In theory, strictly speaking, you buy a cd/game/program and you own it (and the right to listen to/use it.) The actual disk is merely a storage media, so you are free to copy that as a backup, or makes copies to have in each room of your house etc. If you make a copy and give it to someone else, you have given up your right to use it, and have chosen to transfer it to another person, meaning that legally, only they can use it. However... there is some leniency in the law whereas as long as it's not mass-distributed or sold, it's acceptable (well, in the case of music anyway.) P2P is illegal in terms of copyright infringment, as said for both the uploader, and downloader because there's no control on how far reaching the sharing goes. That's why record companies go for prosecution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redavant Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Does anybody know of anyone that has been 'done' for filesharing in this country? I read of a couple of cases of uploaders getting caught simply because they were constantly sharing. Just curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skifly Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 when i was at uni someone was kicked out and had legal types chasing them for illegal file sharing, including phantom menace which he was selling on the streets of a local towny thingy near nottingham. He was also selling music, games etc... Not sure what heppened to him after he was booted out other than the above... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Someone I know was downloading from P2P's, burning them, and selling at computer fairs. The Police raided his house, took all 8 PC's, all his disks, label printers, even disk pens, bagged them, tagged them, and he heard nothing else from them. That was over 4 years ago, so either it's a slow case, or confiscation was all they wanted to acheive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipandpin Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 please excuse my ignorance, but is breach of copyright a criminal or civil offence? It seems to me that the only ones who are doing any harm are the car booters selling downloaded copies. P2P seems pretty harmless to me. Im keen to know how the law views it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 The European Copyright Directive states that "A person who infringes copyright in a work by communicating the work to the public – (a) in the course of a business, or (b) otherwise than in the course of a business to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the owner of the copyright, commits an offence if he knows or has reason to believe that, by doing so, he is infringing copyright in that work." So in theory, it's criminal, but as far as record companies sueing people, that's a civil matter. AFAIK, all the cases in the US have been civil, where the record companies have sued corporations/individuals for breach of copyright, and ordered them to pay a licence fee. Britain however, again AFAIK, haven't brought forward any civil or criminal prosecutions. In actual fact, going from the letter of the law (I've foudn this out since my last post) Under Britain's existing legislation, it infringes copyright to convert a song from a CD into MP3 format, regardless of whether you won the CD or not. Some reading if you are really bored, and sad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] it infringes copyright to convert a song from a CD into MP3 format, regardless of whether you won the CD or not. [/ QUOTE ] bollox. you can do whatever you want with the cd as long as you don't infringe the copyright.... eg copy it for other people. personal copies etc are fine. playing it on multiple devices at the same time is dubious, but it's similar to 2 people reading a book at the same time. I wish we had more powers in some areas of copyright protection (as a game developer) ...but we dont. many of the clauses in license agreements on CD's and game/computer software are unenforceable. the publishers know that, but there's nothing illegal about writing crap in a license agreement, and it puts off casual copiers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] it infringes copyright to convert a song from a CD into MP3 format, regardless of whether you won the CD or not. [/ QUOTE ] bollox. you can do whatever you want with the cd as long as you don't infringe the copyright.... eg copy it for other people. [/ QUOTE ] I think you'll find you're wrong my fine friend. Honest, check it for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Nope, I think you're intepreting some doc on the web wrong. Personal backups etc are 100% legal. PS... or should I fire my lawyers and my publishers' laywers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Section 16 (1) of The Copyright, Design and Patents Act, 1988 states: Copyright will be infringed when an act restricted by copyright is carried out by a party without the consent or authorisation of the copyright owner. The copyright owner has the exclusive rights to do or authorise the following acts in the United Kingdom. One of the infringments listed is simply copying the work (whether it be written, or performed), and there is no provision in the CDPA for personal use. In strict theory, one would have to purchase a CD (in cd format), then purchase, seperately, the same album/song in MP3 format, and so on. Not saying it will be enforced, but that's my understanding of the law. I could be wrong of course.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 Well I'm guessing you're either a student or a teacher. Am well aware of the wording of the actual CDPA.... When you purchase copyrighted CD's or software, you are buying a license to use that material. The material is still owned by the author/publisher. You are entitled to protect your investment. e.g. make a backup. I think you're getting confused with copyright in general, and the licensing of copyrighted material.... As no, you can't store a copy of some copyrighted material. However, if you've purchased a license to use it, you most certainly can!!! We tend to now include clauses like this, to clarify it for the user: The User may not: 1. Copy or distribute the Software or any portion of it except for archival purposes only. 2. Sublicense, rent, lease or transfer the Software or any portion of it. 3. Decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer or modify the Software, or any portion of it. etc. we also state things like: The user may: 2. Make a single copy of the Software for archival purposes only. Although we can't actually enforce how many copies they make, providing they are purely for archival purposes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chav Posted May 4, 2006 Report Share Posted May 4, 2006 [ QUOTE ] In theory, strictly speaking, you buy a cd/game/program and you own it (and the right to listen to/use it.) The actual disk is merely a storage media, so you are free to copy that as a backup, or makes copies to have in each room of your house etc. If you make a copy and give it to someone else, you have given up your right to use it, and have chosen to transfer it to another person, meaning that legally, only they can use it. However... there is some leniency in the law whereas as long as it's not mass-distributed or sold, it's acceptable (well, in the case of music anyway.) P2P is illegal in terms of copyright infringment, as said for both the uploader, and downloader because there's no control on how far reaching the sharing goes. That's why record companies go for prosecution. [/ QUOTE ] I've just noticed you posted this further up the thread. That's much nearer the actual reality of it, however you never own the copyrighted material... it belongs to the copyright holder. you do have a license to use it though, as above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drpellypo Posted May 5, 2006 Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 Law Student, well former, and I stand corrected..! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mb Posted May 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2006 [ QUOTE ] If you make a copy and give it to someone else, you have given up your right to use it, and have chosen to transfer it to another person, meaning that legally, only they can use it. [/ QUOTE ] If the media is just the conduit can you actually transfer ownership ? I know if you sell a Windows PC the licence is meant to die with the original owner and they should buy a new Win licence ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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