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Legal Information

Filesharing Software User Advisories

Legal Overview

File sharing is not illegal as long as you abide by all relevant copyright laws pertaining to your region or country.

Sharing, downloading and reproducing copyrighted material without permission to do so is Illegal. Some information is protected by copyright, which means that you generally need the copyright owner's permission before you make it available to other users. Popular music, movies, games, and software are often protected by copyright.

How do I avoid copyright infringement?

Ensure that your client is not set to share the files you have on your computer. If it is set to share files, ensure that you have explicit permission from the copyright holders for sharing all of the files accessible to your client.

Ensure that the distributor of a file you are interested in downloading has permission from the copyright holder to distribute it.

For your own protection, you should assume that you do not have permission to download or distribute a file unless you have proof to the contrary. So, before you download a file, research if it is legal for you to do so. For example, check the Web sites of the musicians, record company, or movie studio involved to see if they allow distribution of their materials in this manner. When you purchase music, movies, games, etc., read the license carefully to learn if you have permission to convert the material to other formats for your own use, and whether or not you can share the material with others.

Keep up to date on the debate over intellectual property rights legislation, and ensure that your voice is heard by your local legislators if you have an opinion on current laws and proposed changes.

Fair use may apply in some situations. Be careful not to assume that your use is "fair." Fair use depends on balancing the four factors: the purpose, nature, amount and market effect of the work.

Read more about copyright laws at the following websites:

  1. Copyright Basics
  2. Crash Course in Copyright
  3. Electronic Frontier Foundation
  4. Music United
  5. Recording Industry Association of America
  6. Stanford University
  7. U.S. COPYRIGHT OFFICE
  8. World Intellectual Property Organization
  9. Distributed Computing Industry Association
  10. P2P Forums
  11. P2PNet
  12. PeerEvolution
  13. Unite The Cows
  14. Zeropaid

Read more about filesharing at the following websites:

  1. FTC Consumer Alert
  2. RIAA
  3. MPAA
  4. How To Not Get Sued
  5. Copyright laws as stated by the US Government

Here are some interesting rulings in regards to the legality of file sharing programs:

  1. USA Court Decision - Federal Judge Rules: File-swapping tools are legal
  2. Canadian Court Decision - Canada's Federal Court has ruled against... suing individuals...
  3. European Court Decision - The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has thrown out an appeal

Please note that the above references are provided for better understanding of file sharing technology, methodology and any relevant issues. Our website will attempt to keep you as up-to-date as possible but we strongly suggest keeping yourself updated with all the issues related to file downloading.