December, 2006
On the subject of peer-to-peer file sharing and music sites (commonly referred to as P2P) such as Morpheus and Limewire…
It is illegal to take possession of files downloaded from these systems. Period.
Even if the file you want requires you to pay 99 cents, who gets the money? The artist? The record company? The software company? The owner of the system you are downloading from?
All of these P2P services offer some kind of ‘subscription’ but this is very misleading.
If you read the fine print you will see that they tell you it is illegal and you are on your own when downloading files.
The only thing the subscription price buys you is an advertisement-free version of their software, which of course you can use to steal the files you want.
Downloading files from a P2P network is the equivalent of walking into a store and walking out with a CD (or software package) without paying for it.
You can check out the entire Copyright Law here… http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
Specifically, I believe it is Chapter 10 that deals with
digital media.
If you have a problem with paying for your music or programs, you have three choices….
Pay for it and bear the financial burden, live without it or download it from a P2P and bear the legal burden.
Just know that the ‘official’ policy of all companies is that this activity is considered illegal and unethical and therefore is not allowed. You are on your own if you are caught.
Years ago this was an ‘accepted’ way of doing things. The first thing you did
after buying a program or a CD was to copy it. There were dozens of different
copy programs and many pieces of hardware available that were capable of
breaking any copy protection the manufacturers encoded on the disks. In fact,
it was the same software and hardware the manufacturer used to encode it in the
first place. There were actually retail stores in this town that had no problem
selling you a copy of an expensive pirated program for the price of a disk.
All that has changed. End users are being prosecuted daily and many companies
(several in this
By the way, if you are caught, there are fines and jail time. Five years and $
10,000.00 per incident are the norm.
You can read about it here…. http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt128.htm.
One last point….
Many software programs are free and may legally be shared. Many are free for non-commercial uses only.
The licenses for these programs clearly states they may be shared in unaltered form without fee.
They also clearly state that if the program is used in a commercial environment then payment is required.
Be sure you read the license agreement.
For example, AVG Anti-Virus Free is a popular anti-virus program. It is free for non-commercial uses.
Here’s the license agreement for AVG Anti-Virus software. Notice the wording….
“AVG Anti-Virus Free is for private, non-commercial, single home computer use only. Use of AVG Anti-Virus Free within any organization or for commercial purposes is strictly prohibited. AVG Anti-Virus Free is absolutely not for use with any type of OEM bundling with SW (software), HW (hardware) component or any service. Your use of AVG Anti-Virus Free shall be in accordance with and is subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the AVG Anti-Virus Free License Agreement that accompanies AVG Anti-Virus Free.”
Additionally, when a person uses AVG, email is scanned as it is sent from their system.
The person receiving the email will see something like this embedded in the body of the email.
No virus found in this
outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.408 / Virus Database: 268.13.12/499 - Release Date: 10/26/2006
How many times have you seen email from a company that has that in the message body?
Clearly illegal.
Now you know.
In case you are interested, here is the complete text of the AVG Anti-Virus Free License Agreement.
This is a license agreement between you, a final user of
computer software, and GRISOFT, s.r.o. (hereinafter "GRISOFT" or the
"GRISOFT Company"). Please, read carefully! By clicking on
"Accept" key you express your approval of the conditions and terms
hereof and you are bound thereby.
Should you disagree with the conditions and terms hereof, promptly terminate
the use of this software and destroy any copies thereof or delete the program
already downloaded!
1. Providing the License. The GRISOFT Company through this License
Agreement grants to you non-exclusive and non-transferable rights thereunder in
respect of using a copy of the computer program for a service life thereof,
i.e. for a time period throughout which GRISOFT shall maintain and make
available an updated version thereof. You may install (download) and use only
one copy of the program designated for protection of exclusively one personal
computer, notwithstanding as to how many times you download the program and how
many times you accept the License Agreement. You must not use the program in a
network or on more than one computer. This particular software version is
distributed free of charge, therefore, the applicable license is only granted
for home use thereof. In case of this free version, the program is not subject
to any guarantees, and the user has no right to any technical support
whatsoever.
2. Copyrights. The computer program subject thereto is and continues
to be a property of the GRISOFT Company. The computer program is also subject
to copyrights, and as such it is subject to a full protection thereof.
3. Use Restrictions. You must not use the program in any manner
somehow jeopardizing or violating the manufacturers' copyrights. Particularly,
it is prohibited to make copies thereof (with the exception of making copies to
be used as a backup). In addition, you must not reproduce the program, change
it, modify it, decompile it, transfer it from a mechanical code, reanalyze it
or create any deduced works therefrom by processing. All explicitly non-granted
rights are reserved. Any copy of the program you have been permitted to obtain
based hereon must contain a complete copyright and other notices provided at
the original duplicate. You may not use the software in automatic,
semi-automatic or manual tools designed to create virus signatures, virus
detection routines, or any other data or code for detecting malicious code or
data. Use of the software together with so-called "sigtools" is not
permitted
4. Assignment Restriction. This license is provided personally to you
and for that reason it does not allow you to make any duplicate (copy) to be
sold, borrowed, assigned, leased or transferred in any manner whatsoever to
another person. Any transfer executed in violation of this provision shall be
deemed invalid and constitute a reason for termination of your license
validity.
5. Liability Limitation. Neither GRISOFT nor its contractual dealers
bare any liability for any damages arisen due to using or inability of using of
the aforesaid program although if notified of an option of causing such
damages. Liability for any potential damage caused by using or inability of
using thereof is given by your approval and controlled by the provisions of the
Civil Code of the
6. Liability for Program Updating. For the sake of correct
functionality of the program, the manufacturer issues updated versions thereof
available on the GRISOFT Company website. Such updated versions improve
properties of the program, remove any potential defaults or maintain updated
viruses database. The user is liable for functional setting of the process of
program updating for the purpose of maintaining the maximum possible extent of reliability
thereof.
7. Decisive Law; Arbitration Clause. This License Agreement is
governed by the legislation of the
8. Personal Data Handling. In case that data provided during the
course of your registration by the GRISOFT Company should be of a personal data
nature in sense of Act No. 101/2000 Coll., on Personal Data Protection, as
amended, the GRISOFT Company hereby declares that such personal data shall be
handled in accordance with the applicable provisions of the aforesaid Act, i.e.
within a choice made by you during the course of the registration.