Combating copyright infringement

[BoSoxNH]

I'm referring to the legal definition of theft in the US. If we're talking about something being illegal, then it follows logically that we should be using the legal definition. Even without getting out law books, here's the dictionary definition:

Totally agree, its no different IMO whether I record the episode to my computer or whether I download it. Now if I did not have cable I might see a difference since I would not be paying for access in the first place, but I pay plenty to the damn cable co. Secondly I have no idea why one would waste money on iTunes clips, way overpriced and pathetic quality, I could see DVDs however if they were outrageous prices as well.

Secondly the ratings are only affected by households with a Nielsen box, so if you don't have one watching live vs. Tivo won't make a difference at all.

[Seperated@Birth?]

I will give you that. Most cinema's i have been in the past 4-5 years, the cost of entrance is almost less than a medium popcorn and a medium drink... Which is why these days i don't buy any food/drink there..

Amen to that! I take my kids to McDonalds or some other fast food gig before I take them to the theater. You would be surprised how little I get asked to buy candy, popcorn, sodas, nachos or anything else edible! LOL

[garhkal]

No, this is entirely different. Downloading TV shows (or even movies or music) is not theft pure and simple. The reason I can say that absolutely is because under no circumstances can they send the police to your house to arrest you. Copyright infringement is a civil matter not criminal. They would have to sue someone and get a judgement against them before anything could happen. Period. Theft is a legal term and this ain't it.

BECAUSE it's a civil matter, there are no absolutes.

Then why does it have the FBI warning on DVDs.and tapes abou civil AND criminal penalties, up to and including 5 yrs in jail..

Amen to that! I take my kids to McDonalds or some other fast food gig before I take them to the theater. You would be surprised how little I get asked to buy candy, popcorn, sodas, nachos or anything else edible! LOL

I will usually eat at home before hand. Though there has been times i had the soda there and 'snuk in' some candy (like a few bars of Milkyway or 3 muskateers)..

[Agent_Dark]

Then why does it have the FBI warning on DVDs.and tapes abou civil AND criminal penalties, up to and including 5 yrs in jail.

criminal penalties are for people/groups that profit from teh illegal distribution of copyrighted material.

[BloomGate]

Then why does it have the FBI warning on DVDs.and tapes abou civil AND criminal penalties, up to and including 5 yrs in jail..

Okay - let's take a look at what it says.........

WARNING: Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures, video tapes, or video discs.

This is classicly vague on many levels. They fail to mention that authorized reproduction, distribution or exhibition of copyrighted motion pictures, video tapes, or video discs are perfectly legal. It's legal to reproduce a copy for archival purposes. It's legal to distribute it on a rental basis. It's legal to exhibit it in your own home if you have a bunch of friends over. In this case, downloading stuff is none of those things. (Although I wouldn't recommend sharing the files after you've got them downloaded because that IS distribution)

Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and may constitue a felony with a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Criminal copyright infringement is pretty much copying and selling movies for a profit. They phrase things this way to scare people.

The bottom line on this is that they can't bust people for downloading, but they can for distributing. So if you want to be legal, don't share out what you download.

[garhkal]

But does not someone have to break the law of distributing it, before it can be downloaded?? And if i buy legally a handbag from you that YOU stole, i am still guilty of owning stolen property.

[rlr149]

But does not someone have to break the law of distributing it, before it can be downloaded?? And if i buy legally a handbag from you that YOU stole, i am still guilty of owning stolen property.

do you consider my sig pic as stolen?

[BloomGate]

But does not someone have to break the law of distributing it, before it can be downloaded?? And if i buy legally a handbag from you that YOU stole, i am still guilty of owning stolen property.

Your analogy is wrong. To use the handbag analogy, it would be like if I legally made a handbag and then sewed a designer label on it. I would be violating the copyright of the designer, but you wouldn't be guilty of owning stolen property.

See the difference?