Is P2P illegal in Australia, United Kingdom or New Zealand?
By Yahoo User • Category: Copyrights in Australia1. If I download Movies, Songs, Games or Softwares via P2P will i get caught/sued?2. What if I download these files via file sharing websites such as MegaUpload? Is it against the Law?3. How often do people get caught downloading via P2P or Websites?4. What is the current state of P2P in these countries, i.e is it illegal or do people get caught when downloading via P2P or websites?5. Is there a way to download files safely, i.e download less or use special clients?6. How to differentiate between copyrighted and non-copyrighted materials?7. Any suggestion or advice?
It is legal but download copyrighted materials is illegal
Downloading copyrighted material in AU, UK & NZ is illegal. One of the places where the law is a bit looser is Canada.Note: The most important bit is at the end of this answer! To answer your questions…1. Possibly - the authorities hope you will think this, but in reality, not many people are caught.2. It’s still against the law.3. As I said, not many people really get caught, but for those who do, the fines are big.4. I don’t really understand your question here, but the actual software is legal, just downloading copyrighted work is illegal.5. You could download using a proxy server (look in settings in your client). When I use P2P, I don’t use Limewire or Kazaa etc., as there is much increased risk of virus with these programs. I tend to use torrents. Basically, you download ‘torrent’ files from a site like www.torrents.to and load them into software like BitLord (my favourite) where they download. The best way to avoid problems though is - don’t touch adult content.6. It’s fairly easy to differentiate - ask yourself whether you would pay for it at a shop, music downloads, online etc. If it’s film or music, is it studio made (eg. Canal, Universal, Paramount, Sony BMG). 7. Suggestions - Be careful: download with common sense, don’t download porn via P2P (that’s where the viruses are), if need be use an anonymous proxy (pref. Canadian), don’t speak about your downloading via your blog or in any publically viewable area.For torrent software, use BitLord (I’ve checked it for viruses) and bear in mind that people will be taking the files you download from your PC too, so careful what is in the shared folder, as this is publically accessible.NEVER pay for P2P software, it doesn’t make downloading material any more legal.If it’s music you want, use a LEGAL service like allofmp3.com, or legalsounds.com - these sites are based in Russia, so all of the songs that you download are under 10 cents. These sites are safe, and have been ruled legal as royalities are payed - I use these services and pay tiny amounts for my music whilst still staying legal.Hope this helps!