Downloading is a civil violation. Uploading is a crime, since it's "commercial-scale" even if no money actually changes hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cop

Downloading is a civil violation. Uploading is a crime, since it's "commercial-scale" even if no money actually changes hands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement#Criminal_law https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement#Crimina... While it's true that most pirates won't be prosecuted, there are a lot fewer people willing to risk five years in jail compared to the civil penalties for just downloading.