4 ms·

Is copyright in America different to Britain? There, it is legal to download books you don't own. Only distribution is a crime, which most torrenters break by s

Is copyright in America different to Britain? There, it is legal to download books you don't own. Only distribution is a crime, which most torrenters break by seeding.

rahimnathwani 1y ago
What do you mean by 'it is legal'? Do you mean: A) It's not a criminal offence? B) The copyright owner cannot file a civil suit for damages? C) Something else?
- irthomasthomas 1y ago
  > Only distribution is a crime
  - throwawayffffas 1y ago
    Only distribution with the intent to make money is a crime. If you are doing it for free you are not criminally liable. Unless I am missing something.
    - codedokode 1y ago
      Any distribution of copyrighted material can cause you a big trouble.
  - rahimnathwani 1y ago
    What relevance does that have to the present case? The judge, in this civil matter, said there would be a trial. He didn't say anything about it being a criminal trial. The strings 'crim' and 'felon' do not appear in the ruling. We will have a trial on the pirated copies used to create Anthropic’s central library and the resulting damages, actual or statutory (including for willfulness).
    - Aeolun 1y ago
      There can always be a trial, even if nothing was done to warrant it. I think the distinction between civil and criminal trials is smaller in my home country. The fact that there is a trial at all implies that someone commited a ‘crime’.
throwawayffffas 1y ago
I think it's very similar in both countries, but you have got it wrong. Downloading a book without permission is copyright infringement in both countries, regardless of whether you distribute it. In the UK it's a criminal offense if you distribute a copyrighted work with the intent to make gain or with the expectation that the owner will make a loss. Gain and loss are only financial in this context. Meaning that in both countries the copyright owner can sue you for copyright infringement.
kelnos 1y ago
It's not a crime in the US, either, I believe, but you can certainly be sued in civil court for it.

Is copyright in America different to Britain? There, it is legal to download books you don't own. Only distribution is a crime, which most torrenters break by seeding.

rahimnathwani 1y ago

What do you mean by 'it is legal'? Do you mean: A) It's not a criminal offence? B) The copyright owner cannot file a civil suit for damages? C) Something else?

irthomasthomas 1y ago
> Only distribution is a crime
- throwawayffffas 1y ago
  Only distribution with the intent to make money is a crime. If you are doing it for free you are not criminally liable. Unless I am missing something.
  - codedokode 1y ago
    Any distribution of copyrighted material can cause you a big trouble.
- rahimnathwani 1y ago
  What relevance does that have to the present case? The judge, in this civil matter, said there would be a trial. He didn't say anything about it being a criminal trial. The strings 'crim' and 'felon' do not appear in the ruling. We will have a trial on the pirated copies used to create Anthropic’s central library and the resulting damages, actual or statutory (including for willfulness).
  - Aeolun 1y ago
    There can always be a trial, even if nothing was done to warrant it. I think the distinction between civil and criminal trials is smaller in my home country. The fact that there is a trial at all implies that someone commited a ‘crime’.

throwawayffffas 1y ago

I think it's very similar in both countries, but you have got it wrong. Downloading a book without permission is copyright infringement in both countries, regardless of whether you distribute it. In the UK it's a criminal offense if you distribute a copyrighted work with the intent to make gain or with the expectation that the owner will make a loss. Gain and loss are only financial in this context. Meaning that in both countries the copyright owner can sue you for copyright infringement.

kelnos 1y ago

It's not a crime in the US, either, I believe, but you can certainly be sued in civil court for it.