Is peer-to-peer file sharing actually legal?

Question

I'm getting really paranoid about this issue, especially because I'm looking for a place to download movies for making youtube vids.

A couple of months ago my older brother (who happens to be a very knowledgable IT person or similar) explained to me that when downloading things like music, iTunes is certified to do it because they get the artist's permission to distribute it and sell it. When it comes to file-sharing, he said, nobody asks for the artist's permission.

It's like those big FBI warnings at the beginning of movies: redistributing, copying, etc. is strictly prohibited. But everyone uses stuff like BitTorrent and Limewire.

Cold, hard truth: legal or not?

Answer 1

as far as being legal goes, i'm not sure.. but i don' t c the problem in downloading... b'coz millions of people donwload frm them!!! even i do!! everyday.. and i think it is legal acutally!!

Answer 2

Plain and simple if you download files with the intent to illegally share them or sell them, then its illegal. But if you keep the files to your self then its legal.

Answer 3

Of course it is legal.

What makes it ILLEGAL, is when you share protected content.

So in other words, it's just as legal as me putting some of my own pictures on a CD and bringing them to your house, and letting you copy them off of the CD to your computer.

But if the files are .mp3's for instance, that a record label has the rights to and has them copyrighted, then it would be illegal.

Answer 4

If you're talking about Kazaa, 360Share, Bearshare, not legal.

iTunes, Napster, Amazon MP3, etc. Legal.

Answer 5

P2P IS A LEGAL PROTOCOL BUT USING IT TO STEAL COPYRIGHTED CONTENT IS ILLEGAL. EVERYBODY STEALS MUSIC AND VIDEOS BUT IT'S STILL ILLEGAL.

MY CAPS LOCK KEY IS STUCK.

Answer 6

It depends on what you are downloading. If you are downloading something that costs money (movies, music, etc.), it is illegal. If you are downloading something that is free (linux, freeware, etc.) it is legal. When people download things that cost money illegaly, they are stealing. This is starting to ruin the music industry because some bands that aren't well known can't survive because people steal their music.

Answer 7

Your brother is correct. Peer-to-peer file sharing software like Limewire and BitTorrent is legal. Using it to upload or download copyright protected media - music, videos, images, software - without the copyright holder's consent is illegal because it is theft.

Answer 8

its illegal because you can download pretty much anything without going and buy it.

Be careful my friend is in Federal prison for 2 years now because of a software he was downloading thro peer to peer.

you might be next, watch your back. seriously.

Best Of Luck

Answer 9

Peer-to-peer is totally legal. However sharing certain content can be illegal.

Your brother is right: sharing copyrighted music, movies, or programs is illegal. When places like iTunes sell music, a portion of the sale goes to the record company. When you download it from someone else, they don't get paid. You were right when you said it's like those FBI warnings - that's exactly what those warnings are talking about.

Peer-to-peer is a great way to share public files. For instance, my band made a demo LP and we uploaded it to a bunch of torrent sites. Since we own the rights to the music (since we wrote and created it) we can share it with whoever we choose. As long as the files aren't copyrighted peer-to-peer and torrents are perfectly legal. It's the content that can be illegal to share.

I hope that helps!