P2P-Zone - Ammo needed please :)

From another forum (http://forums.uk2.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=22688) in the UK on about UK law re P2P:

Quote:

Queeg:

OK, from various comments around the forum i assume everyone here either has DL'd or knows someone who DL's... In the past I have DL'd both video and audio tracks. In the main to "check out" or preview an album before i go part with my hard earned *cough cough* cash. I have also DL'd tracks for the amusment of friends and family, music i would never have bought to be honest and probably never will, just listend to once had a good chuckle over and then forgotten about.

Tonight i will be going home and deleting all my video and audio files from my hard disk although i probably won't go so far as to uninstall teh software.

Personally i'm of the opinion that so long as the files are not DL'd for sale and that they don't get used to build CD's or mini disks for sale then I don't see the harm. I also am of the opinion that those DLing probably wouldn't have bought those tracks anyway. Or that they are being used like i use them... to preview an album.

I appreciate that this is all probably just a high profile "precident" case to illustrate that it is in fact theft/piracy or whatever and that we'll never actually get called up in front of a court but still it's food for thought.

Be careful out there.......

Quote:

EightAce:

You live in the UK.

You have nothing to worry about just yet.

The Data Protection Act (last rev. 1998) states that information acquired from a (personal) computer system without the express knowledge and consent of the owner of that computer system, is not admissible as evidence in court.

Thereby, until this law is changed, no one can prove in court what you've downloaded. Even if they actually know. You didn't sign a form saying "Yes! Please scrutinize my PC files and take me to court if you don't like them" did you?

In the US, however, it's a different story. Watch out American file sharers.

Quote:

sathanas-wolf:

So... using the law you just stated that would make the child porn paedophiles have on their computers perfectly legal?

Im guessing the laws different somehow for this... But could you explain to me why indecent images of children found on computers can be used in court as evidence whereas software illegally downloaded and used (movies + music included) cannot?

Hmm.

(i know that the child porn thing is a LOT more serious.. but surely at the end of the day they're both still files on computers.)

(i cannot stress enough that i believe child-pornography is completely unnacceptable, I just use this as an example of another type of file stored on a PC that is illegal)

Quote:

tau:

quite simple really
the photos are illegal porographic images that break the law

Courts get a "WARRENT" to search your computer in regard to the above law

however for now Making a personal copy of any music you own is not illegal

Downloading said copys of the net is not illegal

Quote:

EightAce:

Yep, Tau's spot on there.

They do have to get a warrant to search your PC.

And they've gotta have good enough reason to get a warrant in the first place.

Any info etc appreciated :tu:

Ð :S: