is using bittorent and torrentspy illegal?

Question

Do you thik people get caught? Do you think there is a risk. I fi downlaod soemthing from torrentspy is it illegal?

Answer 1

Using anything to download files under copyright without paying for them without permission of the copyright holder is illegal. So if you use bittorrent to share or download a video of your cat, that's legal. If you use it to download or share software, movies or music, then that's illegal. It's a violation of international copyright law and carries a fine of between $750.00 and $150,000.00 for each file. There is a risk in that you can be easily tracked by the RIAA or your ISP. They do it on a regular basis.

Answer 2

*sigh* Do we look like lawyers?

Bittorrent, like any P2P client, is a TOOL. It is up to the USER to decide if s/he wants to use it for good or evil. Don't use it for evil (i.e. break the law) and you won't get caught. If you do use it for evil, then be ready to face the consequences. It's as simple as that.

There are perfectly legal contents on P2P. Old text that has expired copyright, music performances that allow free sharing (South by Southwest concert series do that I believe), and more. However, it's estimated that 99% of all content on P2P are illegal.

Technically speaking, you can only download a torrent from Torrentspy, and that's not illegal in itself. If you download the contents of a torrent, and that content is a violation of someone's copyright, THEN that's illegal.

It's as simple as that. I am not law enforcement, so I can't comment how likely are you to get caught. But does it really matter? Do you break laws just because you wouldn't get caught? That's a very childish behavior known as "daring the authority" also known as "rebel mentality". Most people don't break laws because they know it's wrong. They don't need laws and penalties to actually convince them not to.

Answer 3

Yes, Yes and ... Yes.

Peer to peer sharing is illegal and people do get caught. Here in Maine, an entire University system is in the process of fixing their screw up http://www.bangordailynews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=147765&zoneid=500

Not to mention the fact that you will no doubt get viruses and other malware with peer to peer sharing.