Is It Illegal To Download Tv Programs Via Bittorrent?

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Is It Illegal To Download Tv Programs Via Bittorrent?

#1 pcmaddeanp

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 12:36 PM

Hi,

I was just wondering if downloading TV Programs by BitTorrent was illegal or not.
Please could you answer this question?

Thanks
pcmaddeanp

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#2 DaChew

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 01:34 PM

almost all shows are copyrighted and hence protected, however there are still a few countries that consider anything put on the air waves to be fair game for capture and sharing

premium content that not put on the airwaves would not be fairgame

don't worry the US is slowly beating those countries into line/submission, for some reason Canada and the scandanavian countries are being uncooperative

well there's always the marines

:thumbsup:

This post has been edited by DaChew: 31 March 2008 - 01:35 PM

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#3 Andrew

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 01:42 PM

99.627% of the time, such downloads are illegal in the US of A. There are legal bittorrent TV show downloads available like from the official bittorrent site: http://www.bittorrent.com/tv-shows

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#4 Animal

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 01:44 PM

I'm going to assume that you are referring to a US television show. As I do not have any information about copyright laws as they pertain to other nations. Since this forum is based in the US we follow US copyright law. I found this well written section on another website. To preclude reinventing the wheel, and not saying it nearly as well I'll post it and link back to it, to avoid copyright infringement. :thumbsup:

Quote

One key copyright legal decision significantly shifted the future of American media. In the mid-1980s, the Supreme Court ruled that a viewer using a VCR to copy and “time-shift” a television broadcast for their personal use fell under fair use provisions and thus was not an infringement of copyright. This decision, widely known as the Betamax case, led to the growth of the VCR technology and a broad array of video copying and recording possibilities to be discussed in Chapter 6. Not all copying practices are protected by the Betamax case, as online file-sharing and tape-trading do not constitute personal fair use, but the case allowed technology companies to create and sell devices enabling both infringing and non-infringing uses. Today, recording broadcasts, time-shifting, and use of recorded material within classrooms or for critical commentaries are all fair uses that are exercised regularly across America, even though the television industry was tried to push for policies to restrict such uses.

So the short story is, No it is not legal.

Link to the entire article on Copyright and Television, by Jason Mittell: click here

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#5 pcmaddeanp

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 02:01 PM

Even in the UK as that's where I live?

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#6 Animal

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 04:34 PM

I'd say it's illegal in the UK reading this: http://copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/uk_law_summary

Quote

Copyright arises when an individual or organisation creates a work, and applies to a work if it is regarded as original, and exhibits a degree of labour, skill or judgement.

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#7 frankp316

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 06:24 PM

And don't forget when you download P2P, chances are pretty good you're downloading nasties as well. So even if it's free, you may end up paying in the long run.

#8 ruby1

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 07:48 PM

(DaChew; many thanks for prompting me to take a closer look at the link I provided :thumbsup:

)

I came across a link to elsewhere which ( after consideration ) I have now removed but from it one is reminded that to download and distribute copyrighted material is illegal, so you proceed at your own risk

maybe a good maxim is

if in doubt ,DONT :flowers:

This post has been edited by ruby1: 01 April 2008 - 06:07 AM

#9 DaChew

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 08:18 PM

ruby,
I would edit that post, your link promotes illegal downloads if I read it right

what's really bad here in the USA is how they are doublecharging you for a show, you pay first time just to see it and maybe keep a copy for a little while but cannot back it up to dvd

then later if you liked the season you get to pay for it again, and if that's gets damaged, buy yet another copy

it's all about maximizing profits

and they wonder why people don't have more ethics with their pirating?

This post has been edited by DaChew: 31 March 2008 - 08:22 PM

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#10 Juha

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Posted 31 March 2008 - 08:46 PM

In the UK, BBC have started something they're calling iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/channels/iplayer.shtml, which might be an alternative to piracy!

This post has been edited by Juha: 31 March 2008 - 08:46 PM

#11 Andrew

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Posted 01 April 2008 - 02:15 AM

Aside from the legal perspective, there's the value question. I mean, when was the last time you saw a TV show that was actually worth watching? I've always envied you folks in the UK because every BBC program I've ever seen (which consist mainly of Monty Python, Black Adder, Fawlty Towers, etc.) blows away anything the American networks have come up with. Of course, I'd hate to have to buy a TV license like you Brits have to.

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#12 willh6919

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Posted 03 April 2008 - 07:12 AM

Juha, on Apr 1 2008, 02:46 AM, said:

In the UK, BBC have started something they're calling iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/channels/iplayer.shtml, which might be an alternative to piracy!

and you can get all ch 4 programs a for a week after on 4od after that they are really cheap to buy

#13 bluesjunior

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Posted 10 January 2012 - 09:05 AM

So, how do they intend to stop people from downloading and watching for example TV shows from one country to another prior to release in that country. Lots of people in the USA will download the latest Dr. Who, Merlin or other top series from a link posted on a forum the day after the show is broadcast in the UK and of course Brits are doing the same with links the day after for shows like Boardwalk Empire, Dexter etc?.

This post has been edited by bluesjunior: 10 January 2012 - 09:06 AM

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#14 jfruch1

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Posted 11 January 2012 - 11:46 AM

For years folks recorded shows and movies with their VCRs and nobody said a word. Now we have computers, and all of a sudden it's a big deal.

#15 awk9winnie

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Posted 19 January 2012 - 09:46 PM

There are another sources on net that you can try and one of them is Watch TV Shows Online. I use this source for watching tv shows online. This is really genuine website and through this source you can download any episode and tv show legally with in a minute. Thanks.