Confused about downloading music

marleyboy

True, but I really dont think this law is applicable to audio disks. It could extend its range to computer games, i'm not too sure. How would the law apply to "scenario"; a PS2 with a built in HD full of games? Technically the disks arent copied, although the software is.

superscaper

marleyboy wrote: »

True, but I really dont think this law is applicable to audio disks. It could extend its range to computer games, i'm not too sure. How would the law apply to "scenario"; a PS2 with a built in HD full of games? Technically the disks arent copied, although the software is.

I agree, it was to emphasise that BritBrat's PC system comparison was invalid because PC software has special exemption under UK law.

nickj_2

if i remember rightly didn't some american women get fined a huge amount for illegally downloading music the other day ,

superscaper

nickj wrote: »

if i remember rightly didn't some american women get fined a huge amount for illegally downloading music the other day ,

She got fined for sharing music online. Something like $220,000 for 24 songs. It was a bit stupid of her to go to court, as they gave her every opportunity to settle like everyone else has for something like a couple of thousand. But that's America with the RIAA who sue individuals, whereas the BPI take a different approach and don't go after individual consumers.

marleyboy

Does this mean the law leans more heavily on the uploader than the downloader?

superscaper

marleyboy wrote: »

Does this mean the law leans more heavily on the uploader than the downloader?

This is US law so completely irrelevant to us anyway. But it's always been the case that the law comes down more heavily on the sellers/suppliers rather than buyers/consumers. In the above case there wasn't any specific proof that others had even downloaded what she made available. It was the fact she made them available to be copied that she got fined for.

marleyboy

Quite a hefty fine. I know someone who was selling copied dvd's and cd's inevitably he got caught and had his stuff confiscated (deservedly), but that wasnt enough, he re-supplied and did it again (even hired a market stall), got caught (AGAIN) and had his stuff confiscated, he did it again, same thing happened, he actually found it profitable even with the confiscations, up until his fourth time, when he got locked up and given a really heavy fine. He hasnt done it since, unless he is doing it very underground (possible).

The point I am getting at is the Law over here is much more lax than the US.

D.K.

superscaper wrote: »

She got fined for sharing music online. Something like $220,000 for 24 songs. It was a bit stupid of her to go to court, as they gave her every opportunity to settle like everyone else has for something like a couple of thousand. But that's America with the RIAA who sue individuals, whereas the BPI take a different approach and don't go after individual consumers.

Sorry to sound pedantic but wasn't it over 1,000 in 2 days? If that is right they must have tracked her for 2days so how much else did she share?
She could hardly plea that it was for personal use even though that would still be illegal.

superscaper

D.K. wrote: »

Sorry to sound pedantic but wasn't it over 1,000 in 2 days? If that is right they must have tracked her for 2days so how much else did she share?
She could hardly plea that it was for personal use even though that would still be illegal.

I don't think there was any proof that the songs were downloaded even once. As for the court case they didn't need to prove they'd been downloaded as it wasn't relevant. And for the way p2p works it doesn't really make much sense to say a particular file was downloaded x times as it would only be partly copied by each downloader. And there isn't really an effective way of tracking that, certainly not without a very complicated investigation and probably overstepping privacy laws.

But she wasn't fined for downloading the songs, it was merely making them available to others (which happens by default with p2p programs). And she was only fined for 24 songs, not all 1700 tracks she was accused of having on her pc.