P2P Software User Advisories

P2P technology makes it possible to share all kinds of information. File sharing is not illegal as long as you abide by all relevant copyright laws pertaining to your region or country.

Sharing, downloading and reproducing copyrighted material without permission to do so is Illegal. Some information is protected by copyright, which means that you generally need the copyright owner's permission before you make it available to other P2P users. Popular music, movies, games, and software are often protected by copyright.

Ensure that your P2P application is not set to share the files you have on your computer. If it is set to share files, ensure that you have explicit permission from the copyright holders for sharing all of the files accessible to your P2P application.

Ensure that the distributor of a file you are interested in downloading has permission from the copyright holder to distribute it.

For your own protection, you should assume that you do not have permission to download or distribute a file unless you have proof to the contrary. So, before you download a file, research if it is legal for you to do so. For example, check the Web sites of the musicians, record company, or movie studio involved to see if they allow distribution of their materials in this manner. When you purchase music, movies, games, etc., read the license carefully to learn if you have permission to convert the material to other formats for your own use, and whether or not you can share the material with others.

Keep up to date on the debate over intellectual property rights legislation, and ensure that your voice is heard by your local legislators if you have an opinion on current laws and proposed changes.

Fair use may apply in some situations. Be careful not to assume that your use is "fair." Fair use depends on balancing the four factors: the purpose, nature, amount and market effect of the work.

Internet piracy is the downloading or distribution of unauthorized copies of intellectual property such as movies, television, music, games and software programs via the Internet. Illegal downloads occur in many forms including file sharing networks, pirate servers, websites and hacked computers. Each file posted on the Internet can result in millions of downloads. Hard goods pirates also use the Internet to sell illegally duplicated DVDs through auctions and websites.

Piracy is theft, and pirates are thieves, plain and simple. Downloading a movie off of the Internet is the same as taking a DVD off a store shelf without paying for it. In 2005, MPAA studios lost $2.3 billion worldwide to Internet piracy alone. Posting movies on a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) service or an unauthorized website is akin to giving illegal copies to millions of people.

The Global Avalanche of Internet Piracy The primary source of newly released pirated movies comes from thieves who camcord films in theaters. Illegally recorded movies are then sold to individuals who distribute them around the world through computer servers known as "Topsites." The extraordinary speed and power of a Topsite triggers the avalanche that is global Internet piracy.

A peer-to-peer service is a network that enables computers to connect directly to each other in order to distribute and copy files. Software programs utilize these networks to search for and trade every kind of file. Examples of P2P services include eDonkey, KazaA, Limewire and DirectConnect. These programs can turn your computer into a directory and distributor of an unlimited variety of illegal material, viruses and worms.

When you download a file from the P2P services, you're not just receiving stolen goods. You're now a dealer, responsible for all the violations that others are enabled to commit as a result. Besides putting yourself at risk of the legal consequences of illegally distributing movies, you're opening your computer up to potentially dangerous situations. By inviting complete strangers to access your hard drive, you risk exposing your private information such as bank records, social security numbers and personal pictures. You also make yourself vulnerable to identity theft and possibly a whole lot more. In addition, you are exposing your computer to harmful viruses, worms, Trojan horses and annoying pop-ups.

The MPAA has a multi-pronged approach to fighting Internet piracy, which includes educating people about the consequences of piracy, taking action against Internet thieves, working with law enforcement authorities around the world to root out pirate operations and working to ensure that advanced technologies will allow the legal distribution of movies over the Internet. Since November of 2004, individuals who have infringed copyrights in motion pictures and television programs over the Internet have been sued for those infringements in lawsuits in the smallest of towns and the biggest of cities. Damages for copyright infringement range from $30,000 to $150,000 per work and, if there is criminal prosecution, could include up to five years in jail.

As a consumer, there are plenty of sites that offer legal downloads such as CinemaNow, Vongo, ifilm, Movielink, Movieflix, AtomFilms, iTunes video and more. You can also get show times and tickets for movies playing in local theatres online. There are also many options available to buy or rent movies without even having to leave your home. For students, services such as Cdigix and Ruckus are becoming readily available on college and university campuses across the nation.