<p>Is it illegal to download files that are NOT copyrighted at U.S? For example, music albums that are released in Japan only etc...</p>
<p>Yes, considering most nations have signed international agreements for copyrights. So yes, it is still illegal. The only difference it really would have legally is that legal action would be less probable. However, universities aren’t going to care about that, illegal downloading is illegal downloading.</p>
<p>Think of it this way: The biggest concern for getting “caught” is by pirating stuff in a way that you are connected to a group that is bound to take some form of action. It could be the ISP, or it could be by the copyright holders.</p>
<p>Law enforcement isn’t going to chase after you. A LOT of people pirate songs and movies. They’re going to go after the source/large group instead of an individual…</p>
<p>That is true to an extent, but what about the individuals that were targeted earlier this year for pirating The Hurt Locker. Their IP addresses were logged and then they received a legal notice stating that they had to pay a settled amount (about $2500) or they were to appear in court to possibly receive a MUCH higher fine. This looks like only the beginning and this wasn’t even law enforcement. The producers of The Hurt Locker gathered legal assistance and went after the offenders themselves. Music may be a different game, but Movies are starting to look shaky in my book as far as illegal downloading is concerned.</p>
<p>Many colleges will sanction people who break the law using their computers. This includes anything from child pornography (tot he extreme, of course) to something like downloading music illegally. They don’t need the headache of having to fight subpoenas from record companies and Hollywood studios over stuff like that, so they’ll just enact discplinary action against you since they can and do monitor their connections for that sort of thing.</p>
<p>Bittorrenting itself isn’t illegal. It’s a means of moving large files amongst many users without having them move through a central server. However what files you do move can get you in trouble. Bittorrenting open source software and other material published under the free commons license, or whatever it’s called, is completely legal. As for your question about Japanese songs, eh, I’m not exactly sure. However, if you can, (and mods please delete this post if you see fit) take your laptop to some place with open wifi and download off of there. (i.e. a McDonalds in town or something similar) if you illegally download off of the connection the college provides for you (they can monitor this easily) you’re not being very smart.</p>
<p>Why do people even bother asking these questions?</p>
<p>If you feel uncertain, don’t do it. It’s that simple.</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter who the artist is or where the artist is from. If someone has copyright on something and they don’t give you permission to have and use it, then it is illegal, plain and simple. It is not a difficult concept. If something belongs to someone else and you take it without permission or properly buying the right to use it then it is stealing. Just because the Internet has made it so easy to share files does not mean it is legal.</p>
<p>If you unlock your front door does that mean it is legal for me to come into your house without an invitation and take what I want?</p>
<p>If you arent selling it, and you didnt get money from it, they cant get anything from you. You could always say it was your brother or sister or someone else. If you can just get it without a password, its not your fault.</p>
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<p>That may be the most factually incorrect post I’ve seen on this forum.</p>
<p>^^Would of held up, except that hole in the argument was quickly patched when it was exploited quite a while ago. Do note that it is still participating in unauthorized distribution, which is illegal, and the person who is going to get charged is the one responsible for preventing such action. You can easily be proven guilty, but its much harder to shift the guilt to someone else besides from a claim.</p>
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<p>That part is true, but of course there’s also the “You have to be selling it to be charged”
part. That used to be true several years ago as well, but then it shifted to people who were simply uploading/seeding the pirated copies, and now it’s both seeders and leechers.</p>
<p>So, essentially, the entire sentence he wrote is factually incorrect and outdated as of the year ~2002</p>
<p>Hopefully, the OP and others realize that there is no question that up/downloading copyrighted material is illegal and law enforcement or other agencies would be within their rights to go after you. The only thing left to discuss is the ethics of the practice. I fear that because the practice is so widespread that many now feel that it isn’t really stealing. Of course it is stealing, so you are merely left with the question of whether or not you feel that this sort of stealing is OK with you. I won’t presume to lecture anyone on the subject, but for myself, I wouldn’t steal a candy bar from a store, so I also won’t steal a song or movie from an artist.</p>
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<p>Got to agree with this. Just because it’s widespread doesn’t mean it’s right. Combined with the fact that most of my favorite artists are off-mainstream (and therefore depend heavily on record sales), I really don’t see a reason to download their songs illegally unless I want to see them go bankrupt.</p>
<p>Besides, most songs you can download illegally are only low quality 320kbps mp3s. Definitely not worth it for me.</p>
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because you can consistently tell a difference between flac and 320kbps cbr mp3 on your iBuds, right?</p>
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<p>A bit quick to assume what sort of equipment I use there, aren’t you?</p>
<p>I have my own desktop with an external DAC. I’m not running the FLAC through a laptop’s soundcard.</p>
<p>^Ok. But what speakers/headphones?</p>
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YEAH
that sure tells us a lot</p>
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<p>Have you done a blind test between listening to the same song on flac vs. a 320 kbps mp3? I’d try it.</p>
<p>I can tell the difference between a flac and a 320 kbps mp3. I’ve got an external sound card feeding my Yamaha receiver with RBH speakers. My amp and speakers are worth a lot more than my PC itself.</p>
<p>But 320 kbps mp3’s don’t sound that bad. I don’t mind something at that bitrate - it generally sounds pretty decent. Now, if you have sub-128 kbps mp3’s, the difference is huge.</p>