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Kinda Freaked Out - Copyright Infringement Notice...
- Thread starter Xander562
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The only thing I download is a TV show once in a while if I miss an episode. Personally I don't see why this should be illegal, it's really no different then me recording a TV show to watch later. I could understand the problem if I burned a show to DVD and started selling it or something, but I just DL it, watch it, and usually delete it when im done.
I simply see nothing in common between the concept of "theft" of tangible property (including the intent to deprive the owner of the item itself), and the concept of infringement of intangible exclusive rights, such as copyright.
There are simply more accurate analogies for copyright infringement than "theft." You cannot "steal" intangible intellectual "property" that is copyrighted. You can physically steal a disc, but only infringe on copyrights.
My neighbor got his cable internet service disconnected. He said Adelphia did it because he was downloading a russian book (yes, he's russian, I think he feels at home here, vermont is a socialist/quasi communist state).
Anyway, I thought it was interesting they monitored his actions. He got service again in his wife's name
Anyway, I thought it was interesting they monitored his actions. He got service again in his wife's name
The law doesn't make this distinction. In fact copyright and patent laws were created to extend full rights of ownership to intellectual property. Works of the hand and works of the mind are subject to similar legal protections. The main exception in the case of intellectual property is the concept of "fair use."
Section 501 of the copyright law states that anyone who violates any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner ...is an infringer of the copyright or right of the author.
If you take a look here at 501, you'll only see rights to sue and rights to serve papers for civil actions, and then after those civil processes take hold, there may or may not be criminal charges, any of which are quite dissimilar to criminal charges and processes for theft and burglary. Furthermore, it even says right in the law that these charges and processes are meant to "ensure that the applicable guideline range for a defendant convicted of a crime against intellectual property . . . is sufficiently stringent to deter such a crime," not to mirror or follow that of physical property or give full rights of ownership like those of property or tangible goods. I know you haven't expressly disagreed with these points, but there has been implication, also throughout this thread, that it is "the same" as theft, which obviously is nothing near these laws, crimes, processes, or charges/punishments.
Okay, but this is a distinction without much of a difference. Usually, when someone is arguing that violating copyrights is not the same as "stealing," they are trying to rationalize something in their own behavior which is probably a violation of law and somebody else's rights of ownership, which they don't want to acknowledge. I'm not sure if that's what you are trying to do, but I always hate to see these discussions go in that particular direction.
I understand. I was not stating any opinion or any kind of rationalization for copyright infringement, and I don't even want to reduce copyright infringement as a civil and criminal offense. I will say that it only reduces the value of the property without taking away possession of the property, by withholding licensing fees and buying into copyright-compatible scenarios, whereas outright theft completely robs the victim of both the value of the property AND the possession of the property. That's just logic.
So, no, I don't want the conversation to go that way, either. But semantics are pretty important here, because they reflect the reality of the law and the reality of its effects. Being semantically incorrect can inflame claims of harm just as easily as attempt to incorrectly reduce the reality of harm done by copyright infringement.
What About.....
What about someone who has downloaded about five episodes and 2 movies?
Got 3 warning emails from charter throughout the years and and am scared to death
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
Doubt it, just don't be so careless in the future and get a Steam account or something.
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
Very likely. Better start trucking it to Mexico.
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
Lesson here is to pay for the things you want.
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
You will end up serving anywhere from 2-5 years for copyright infringement in a federal prison. Hope those downloads were worth it.
They almost never take any serious action against you. Usually you get a warning to get rid of the content you've acquired and to not download that specific content again. As long as you comply with that request nothing happens. I'm sure after multiple violations something nasty could happen.
Of course, you could be one of those unlucky ones that is chosen to be an example to the rest and get fined tons of money or jailed.
Of course, you could be one of those unlucky ones that is chosen to be an example to the rest and get fined tons of money or jailed.
Lesson learned maybe? I honestly don't get why people pirate games. Just wait for a Steam sale and get the ones you want for $8 each. Even the Mac App Store gets price reductions on titles.hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
There was a time when I could sort of see the point as to why pirating occurred. Getting stuff legally online was hard, but these days it's an absolute piece of piss and you can try stuff for free for a while in a lot of cases.
Don't worry about it. I got one of those letters after downloading a TV show I usually watch, but happened to miss that week. Nothing came of it.
The worst case scenario here is you get caught at it a few times, and your ISP shuts down your connection.
...but you should still do this. Better safe than sorry.
The worst case scenario here is you get caught at it a few times, and your ISP shuts down your connection.
...but you should still do this. Better safe than sorry.
Cox Infringment Letter
I got freaked out when I got a letter stating Disney stated someone on my ISP downloaded a movie illegally. I was about to poo my pants when I read the possible actions Disney could take. I apologized and stopped the downloading ASAP. I would assume repeat offenders can really suffer the consequences. I recommend that if you are downloading illegally, that you stop now. You could end with a letter from your isp months and months later and as you compound violations not knowing it.
I got freaked out when I got a letter stating Disney stated someone on my ISP downloaded a movie illegally. I was about to poo my pants when I read the possible actions Disney could take. I apologized and stopped the downloading ASAP. I would assume repeat offenders can really suffer the consequences. I recommend that if you are downloading illegally, that you stop now. You could end with a letter from your isp months and months later and as you compound violations not knowing it.
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The worst thing you can do is use those public trackers that alot of people use. Use private trackers if you are going to do that kind of stuff regularly. Also try to use a seedbox and VPN.
Peer Guardian, Peer Block, and the likes don't work.
They can still see you.
If you do this kind of activity you really should be using a VPN. It's cheap and effective.
You must make sure, however, that the VPN service itself is secure and doesn't log anything.
They can still see you.
If you do this kind of activity you really should be using a VPN. It's cheap and effective.
You must make sure, however, that the VPN service itself is secure and doesn't log anything.
hi my dad got 3 emails from charter on copyright infringement from taking 3 downloaded games from a u torrent website and he just got the last one today July 11, 2012
i am a kid and am really scared about going to jail, is it possible that i might go to jail for this please reply asap
The serious answer is no, you can't go to jail, and you likely won't even face civil action. These letters are nothing but scaremongering.
Another company ran a similar scam here in the UK not too long ago and they were eventually banned from practicing law because they were acting unethically and didn't have enough evidence for any of their accusations.
I'm not sure how much of it is relevant to the US, but this site might be of some help to you.
In the future, to avoid getting caught, use a VPN or download from file lockers rather than P2P services.