Is downloading music from software such as Ares illegal?
OK any music, movies, or other things like software that cost money, that you download for free from someone else, is against the law. The P2P programs are the biggest area of piracy on the internet. Also Torrents and such. If you pay a reputable company for the download (like iTunes or Rhapsody) that is legal downloading. There are a few free networks like TVu that allow you to view live content those are legal also. The problem with P2P programs are they are traceable and the law enforcement world os using the same programs to track and find violators of copywrite violations. THey can easily get your IP address from these programs and it takes only minutes. People are being sued by the music industry for these types of downloads. From a news article on it: “In its running legal battle against unauthorized downloaders, five recording companies have sued an Augusta man in federal court claiming he illegally pirated and shared copyrighted music. Scott Hinds, 23, is a defendant in one of
If the music and videos are copyrighted, then it is considered illegal for any type of file, unless there is something like the GNU License Agreement which allows people to use copyrighted material freely since the author has given permission for using his/her intellectual property. Consent here is implied. I don’t know all of the other legalese behind what makes it illegal or not, but its a safe bet to assume something like TV episodes/hollywood movies, and music done by artists under recording labels is illegal. If its something like a fanmade video or music that someone recorded in mom’s basement and distributed to gain exposure, then there should be no caveats there.
