p2p legality question

[tarun]

Can u guys tell me to what extend p2p is legal? I read that Filesharing clients like gnutella dont have a central server so nothing much can be done about it.
Then came the bittorrent site suprnova.org shutdown.
Is downloading mp3s from a client like ares/limewire/sharezaa legal??
some articles confuse me :confused:

[Big Booger]

Downloading any file that is copyrighted and the copyright holder has not granted you permission to download and that you have not purchased is illegal AFAIK.

Why and how can P2P be legal? Simple. Download freeware, shareware, independent files released on networks, home movies, GNU software, Linux files, movie trailers, independent music releases and so on.

Also, I believe Michael Moore stated that you can download his films for free. He is the copyright holder AFAIK and he stated that he sees nothing wrong with people downloading his movies over P2P. (the company producing the films disagreed).. hehehe

Also any files older than I think 70 years after the death of the author or something like that are freely downloadable, as are classic ebooks, and the like.

How long copyright lasts depends on when the work was created. The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended many copyrights by 20 years. Here are the details, straight from the Copyright Office FAQ:

* For works created after January 1, 1978, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. In the case of a joint work, copyright lasts for 70 years after the last surviving author's death. For anonymous and pseudonymous works and works made for hire, copyright lasts 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever ends first.

* For works created but not published or registered before January 1, 1978, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, but it will not expire earlier than December 31, 2002. If the work is published before December 31, 2002, copyright will not expire before December 31, 2047.

* For pre-1978 works still in their original or renewal term of copyright, copyright is extended to 95 years from the date that copyright was originally secured.

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20020612.html

basically I think a copyright should end the day the person dies.. But basically it's all about money.. and companies want to keep your money.

[phishhead]

what confuses me about it is say I have a windows 98SE iso that I downloaded that was named microsoft.piece.of.crap.iso it is now a different file name so it is no longer the original file.

[Big Booger]

I think in the original copyright it is a violation to change the name, so even if you download a renamed file, in part or in its entirety, then you have violated that copyright. But as I am not a copyright lawyer I don't know???

I think what matters is the content, not so much the name of it.

[tarun]

thanks a lot for the reply BB - it clears up everything. I guess I know which side of the fence i stand on :embarass:
So downloading that music from ares wasn't such a good idea :D

What if like I take a song, and change the last say 5seconds of it, will I be in violation of the copyright?? (just curious) They can't copyright the combination/sequence of notes themselves, how do the go about copywriting a song?

[Big Booger]

As for changing the songs, I'm not sure but I think you're still violating the copyright. To copyright a song, it depends on what country you are from. Each country has a different copyright law.

Here's the copyright law info for the US:

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

And as you are from India:

http://law.indiainfo.com/others/copyright-trade/copyright-act.html

[rohitk89]

wow...so all works by shakespeare, mozart et al..are copy right free?