3 ms·

I've always been curious - has anyone ever been prosecuted for downloading content? My understanding is that it's the unauthorized publishing (for example, pro

• ta12121 14y ago
  There is nothing legal about downloading pirated content (in the US), but the penalties for uploading (distributing) are much higher, which is why those are the people that get sued.
• DanBC 14y ago
  As I understand it both are illegal. If Bob downloads a bunch of tracks the company can sue for the cost of each track - $0.79 per track, plus costs. If Bob then uploads a bunch of tracks the company can sue for the cost of each track, multiplied by the number of people in each swarm, plus costs. This gives the ridiculous many-thousand dollar sums. Both are illegal. If Bob burns the content to CD and takes a bunch of them to a car-boot sale it becomes a criminal offence. (I'm in the UK and legal terminology is a bit confusing when it crosses from the US.)
  • icebraining 14y ago
    If Bob then uploads a bunch of tracks the company can sue for the cost of each track, multiplied by the number of people in each swarm, plus costs. This gives the ridiculous many-thousand dollar sums. That's actual damages, and in practice labels find those too small, so they go after statutory damages instead, which is why the different appeals in the Capitol v. Thomas case have awarded them completely disparate amounts, from $54,000 to $1,920,000, for sharing 24 songs on Kazaa.