Nestof3 Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 The movie Valkyrie has not been released on video, yet my son's friend has invited him to watch this on megaupload.com. Would this be an illegal version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Knoll Mom Posted March 3, 2009 Share Posted March 3, 2009 Yes. Megaupload is a peer-to-peer sharing site with lots of illegal copies of movies and tv shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 He is watching it at a different site now, and he claims: The video that I have streaming to my laptop right now is "non-downloaded-non-uploaded", its "live streaming video", from the owners domain/site "non-copyrighted" and also its a very good quality video, "non-video taped". What does this mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristenS Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 If it hasn't been released, then it's an illegal copy. Whatever the site may say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 He is watching it at a different site now, and he claims: What does this mean? The "not video taped" portion means those who infringed the copyright (as in to say perpetrated a felony) did so from a video (or DVD copy) rather than by using a cam-corder to record the film off a screen. So they are boasting of better "quality", but it's no less illegal. "Streaming" means (expect for cached files) that the film is being watched "online" and not being downloaded to ones personal computer. This makes the viewer to some degree less in "possession" of a films digital file, but I don't think it would get you off a legal hook, especially if your viewing is part of a "torrent" that helps redistribute the work to other viewers. It is criminal behavior and you should really shut it down. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Thanks Bill and everyone else. This is what the guy responded back to me: The legal issues in file sharing involve violation of copyright laws as digital copies of copyrighted materials are transferred between users. The debate on peer to peer and file sharing is a virtually global phenomenon. Peer to peer ("P2P") technology allows people worldwide to share files and data; however a significant proportion of the data shared is material passed freely between users that is (or should legally be) subject to copyright or other restrictions. Different legal systems, and different technologies, handle this differently. Some of the key background and distinctions are as follows: P2P file sharing is used both legitimately (to distribute with permission or non-copyright materials), and illegitimately (in breach of copyright). It is highly popular and effective, with some estimates being that 18 - 35% of all internet traffic is P2P usage in some form or other.[1][2] P2P systems vary - some rely upon a centralized server, others are decentralized with no one site operating the system. Recent systems often have anonymity or obfuscation built in, making it harder to identify senders, recipients and material, and providing a degree of plausible deniability. In some file sharing systems, the owner of a sharing system directly distributes files themselves. In others, notably BitTorrent, the organizer is not in fact distributing any copyright material. rather, they act like a cataloguer or co-ordinator, indexing files rather than themselves offering any such material. A typical such file might provide a filename, a location it can be downloaded from, and various checksums which can be used to verify the file's integrity when downloaded. It does not, itself, contain any media material, whether legal or otherwise. This does not mean that it is legal or illegal to use BitTorrent technology for distribution of copyrighted material. His words: I'm not distributing the movie to anyone, I am a single viewer. The Copyright Law applies to people who take these videos, clips, dvds, and files, and who distribute them to other people for "profit", that the main reason why we have copyright laws. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 Someone has found a loophole that needs closing. Technically it MAY not be pirating - but if it smells like a fish and looks like a fish it IS a fish. The guy might not be charging money for his own profit....BUT maybe by sharing he is preventing someone from paying for a movie ticket or dvd, thereby cutting off profit from the film's creators. It is WRONG. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Someone has found a loophole that needs closing. Technically it MAY not be pirating - but if it smells like a fish and looks like a fish it IS a fish. The guy might not be charging money for his own profit....BUT maybe by sharing he is preventing someone from paying for a movie ticket or dvd, thereby cutting off profit from the film's creators. It is WRONG. I agree. To me, it's just common sense. First, my son said that his friend told him that Valkyrie was on Youtube, but it was pulled. Why would anyone buy videos if they could all be watched online for free? To me, the viewer is robbing the owner of the copyright and those involved of money. The fact that I have to keep trying to explain this to his friend amazes me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 4, 2009 Share Posted March 4, 2009 (edited) Dawn, you should be aware that the scheme by which operators of BitTorrent sites try to evade legal culpability is to claim they don't host the media files, rather only the pointer files and check-sums for a Torrent. But this has the consequence of making the participants in a Torrent both "viewers" and "distributers". In other words, a Torrent works by having multiple users simultaneously downloading and (critically) uploading to other "users" from the users own computers. This upload/download aspect of Torrents makes them "fast". But it also makes a participant in a Torrent not only guilty of illegally downloading copyrighted material, it also involves the user in illegally distributing the material as well. A participant in a Torrent is NOT a single viewer, they are part of a distribution scheme, by the very nature of how BitTorrents work. This makes any such person open to very severe criminal penalties. On day the MPAA will surely make an example of Torrent users just as the RIAA did with music downloaders, and those folks will find themselves in a world of legal troubles. Even without that threat infringing copyright is theft, and clearly illegal and unethical. Edited March 4, 2009 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nestof3 Posted March 4, 2009 Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Thanks again Bill and JFS! My son did start to watch the movie, but with his friend and his friend's dad sitting there, said he just couldn't watch it because I had told him I considered it copyright infringement and also robbery. He said he wanted to honor me even if his friend did have good explanations. It is so difficult to defend why I consider it illegal -- to me, it's just really common sense. My son also said that because it is a way to keep companies from getting the money they have earned, he feels it is wrong. Thank you so much for clearing this up in language I could never use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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