Have you fully read the licensing agreement to popular file-sharing websites? A very popular file-sharing site talks about using their network to download what they describe as “Illegal Materials” (i.e. music, movies, materials with an associated copyright, or pornographic materials):
[This program], like all peer-to-peer (“P2P”) programs is capable of being used to share materials that the copyright owner has not authorized be shared. It is unlawful to use [this program] to infringe the intellectual property rights of others, or to share, distribute, or download others protected, proprietary and/or confidential information without authorization, or to share, distribute or download unlawful pornographic materials (collectively “Illegal Materials”). By using [this program] you agreed and represent that you will not use [this program] to share, distribute or download Illegal Materials.
So what does all this legal language mean? Basically, the file-sharing service is warning you that their service should not be used to download music and movies, or other copyrighted materials without permission of the author or the copyright holder. Ironically, this is the best-known use for popular file-sharing services. Also, by agreeing to use this service, you have agreed to not download, share, or distribute these types of files. Now read this from the same file-sharing service’s licensing agreement:
You hereby agree to indemnify and keep indemnified (name withheld), any of its officers, employees, agents, subsidiary companies, holding companies and/or the officers, employees and/or agents of each from and against any and all costs, claims, demands, liabilities, expenses, damages or losses (including without limitation consequential losses, loss of profit and loss of reputation, and all interest, penalties and legal and other professional costs and expenses) arising out of your breach of any of the terms of this License or in any way connected to your use or misuse of the Program or any part thereof.
Did you know…?
Did you know that music and movie companies have sued individuals in the past for downloading and/or sharing a music or movie file without permission from the copyright holder? The paragraph above basically says that if you happen to be sued by the record company, you agree that you will not hold this website responsible for the money you are being sued for (damages) in the event that you are sued.
You can search Google® for John Tenenbaum, Ciara Sauro, and Jammie Thomas. What we can learn from their stories is that no matter how easy file-sharing networks make music and movies obtainable, rarely can you receive something for free. Unfortunately, there is a cost. Either you pay the cost upfront, or that cost may be charged to you later on. Networks such as Kazaa, Bit Torrent, Limewire, etc., do make the sharing of files easier, however we need to make sure the files that we choose to download and share were offered by the actual copyright holder.
An easy way to not have to deal with this hassle is to simply obtain our music and movies from trusted media vendors. On our campus, iTunes® seems to be the most popular, but there are other sources available as well. Find the best way for you to enjoy your favorite music and movies responsibly.
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