Sharon asks…
How to know if movie site is legal?
I asked a question earlier about this, and got a couple answers. One guy gave me the links to sites he said were legal, but I’m wondering how to be positive, and what makes it legal/illegal. I’m not familiar with the laws surrounding media, and I’m very curious about this. If site is illegal, is there a place to report it to?
admin answers:
(1) Do you get to download new, commercially available movies for free? Then it’s not legal.
(2) Can you pay per download or pay for a “subscription” to view movies? Then it’s most likely legal.
(3) Do they have a copyright policy? Do they take down movies that are infringing? The site’s probably legal, but the material on it may not be.
Basically, if you’re getting something for nothing, you’re commiting copyright infringement. There are exceptions, of course… For example, really, really old movies (1920s or earlier) are likely in the public domain now, so you can download and copy them freely. But pretty much everything else has a copyright owner, so unless the site has licensed the movies, copying them constitutes infringement. The site will not tell you whether it’s legal or not, which is a shame, but if they did, they would be in trouble too.
If there are sites that you’re not sure of, contact the site administrator. You can also report illegal activities to the FBI (they’ll only be interested if people are importing and making a profit off of it) or the Motion Picture Association of America.
Ruth asks…
How do I avoid copyright problems by downloading music to Youtube?
I want to download music to Youtube, and I ripped a playlist off of a CD to my harddrive, and want to put it on windows movie maker, and download it to Youtube. First, I know it’s not legal to distribute this without authorization, so how do I get the authorization? How do I do it without getting in trouble? And, what are the consequences of it?
@brisray: So what are the consequences of posting the content without authorization?
never mind, i see the link
admin answers:
A new law makes it a felony to stream copyright material – http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2011/05/new-bill-upgrades-unauthorized-internet-streaming-to-a-felony.ars and those disclaimers don’t mean a thing. Plenty of people have had material deleted from YouTube with and without disclaimers – http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/youtube/thread?tid=79cb3273928c19ae&hl=en
You need to contact the copyright holders and get permission to distribute their material. You have to search the performing rights societies sites, there are three of them. More information and useful addresses at http://www.copyrightkids.org/permissioninformation.htm
Helen asks…
Is watching a movie for free on movie2k legal?
I’m not asking if the site itself is legal, but I am asking if I myself can get in trouble if I watch some movies on it.
Is it like lymewire where you can get sued big time?
admin answers:
No, it’s not illegal to watch, but it is illegal to download, burn to DVD and sell for profit.
The only thing is a lot of online streaming sites have problems with viruses and stuff like that, so you’ve got to be careful with that. Movie2k has a reputation for being relatively safe, but you should still have your safeguards up.
Joseph asks…
How do I know whether free music or book downloads are legal?
Every once in a while, I want to read something without waiting for it from the library. So I see “download here- FREE” sites, and I have to wonder, is that legal? Can I use them to read or listen to music? I don’t want to cheat the author/artist out of money by ripping it off, and I definately don’t want to break the law.
I don’t want to do anything illegal, not because I might get caught, but because I actually have a conscience. I also want the authors/artists to get paid. So no “just do it” answers, please.
admin answers:
Some sites have a “legal purposes” or “contact” or “why is this legal”
but sites that let u download free music and movies and stuff without signing up and paying for it (even then some are illegal) these sites are illegal
Maria asks…
If I download a movie from a torrent site but delete it after I watch it, can I still get in trouble?
I didn’t distribute the movie anywhere. I downloaded it, and watched it, and if I delete it can I still get in trouble?
admin answers:
Yeah, but will they come after you? Probably not. Most settlements range for about 3,000 us dollars. They find out who you are by your mac address and your ISP. They first contact your ISP, to obtain a name and address associated with the offending mac address. This address is unique in the world. However it can be changed it is know as mac spoofing. But even so a legal defense is costly.
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