Can you help with a "discussion" we were having the other day? A friend insisted that "sharing" via Limewire is "illegal", and we were unaware that it is.
I thought that downloading for profit was illegal, but sharing wasn't. But, I am worried that I am wrong. What do they do when they come for you, if it is illegal?
"I thought that downloading for profit was illegal, but sharing wasn't."
I have wondered about that myself. How can the government say that I cannot share something I have bought? I can understand how it would be wrong to make identical duplicates and sell them as if they were the real thing(counterfeit), but if I want to loan you my copy of one disk and borrow one of yours, where is the crime? I think the record companies are shooting themselves in the foot with their ancient business model. Better to sell me a song I want for a buck than to hold out for a twenty dollar crappy 'album' and lose the sale altogether. Bunch of greedy so-and-sos if you ask me.
I don't know if it's illegal or not - that issue is being slugged out in the courts by lawyers on both sides and will continue to be slugged out for years, most likely. However, the Supreme Court did rule in their last session that P2P software writers can be held liable for people using their product to download copyrighted works. No doubt the RIAA is prepping a torrent of lawsuits to test how far they can push this in their favor.
Typically, the RIAA decides to go after some small player, generally a teen-aged kid who got ratted out by his/her ISP for downloading music or movie files. They swoop in, confiscate the computer and threaten the kid and the parents with millions in fines and an eternity in prison, all in an attempt to scare them into settling for a few thousand dollars. They then move on to the next kid. They don't go after people with enough resources to fight back - RIAA people are among the lowest, most craven, scummiest things to ever roam the planet.
The earth has moved under the RIAA's feet thanks to digital music file transfer technology and mp3 players, and they see themselves as losing all of their power if this technology is allowed to flourish in any way - it'll be completely out of their control, just like talk radio and the Internet has caused the Left to lose control of the flow of information in this country.
To the perverts at the RIAA, this means the limos, the nose candy, the power to destroy legions of people with a phone call and the endless stream of young girls (and boys) they can use as sex toys just by promising to "make you a star" dries up overnight. So of course, instead of adapting to a new landscape, they will fight to the death to keep their antiquated, hopelessly corrupt empire propped up.