Quote:
Originally Posted by tompe
I do not get it. First do you not have intention as a requirement for something to be illegal? If you thought that you downloaded it legally and had no reason to suspect otherwise how could it be illegal? But even if you downloaded them illegally how does that makes it illegal to have them? Is it because the downloading action it is illegal? If you had found them on the street thrown away would it have been illegal to have them then?
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In this country, there's a saying... "Ignorance of the law is no excuse." Technically, even if I didn't know I was getting something stolen, I could be held liable for having something stolen... I would be an "unwitting accomplice" of sorts. (Generally, the court looks the other way, but it's their prerogative.)
Imagine if you bought a car that it turned out had been stolen. Technically, you are guilty of receiving stolen goods, but usually, you're just told to surrender the car. But if foreknowledge of the car's status is proven, you can be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Same thing for illegal e-books.
The reason it would be illegal to have the files is because they were "illegally created and illegally obtained," that is, created and downloaded without the copyright owner's permission. Again, ignorance of that status is considered no excuse, and I would be required to delete/surrender them or face prosecution.
U.S. law is different (and noticeably vague at times) regarding things designated as "discarded." If it can be demonstrated that the property is discarded, and you picked it up, that is considered legal. The trick is in proving it was discarded. If it is considered only "lost," in picking it up you have in fact "found" it. In many cases, if the owner has proof of ownership (a receipt, etc), and especially if they have reported it lost or stolen, they can demand it back once it is found (think of the car scenario again). Even if they have not reported it lost, if they discover it has been found, they are within their right to claim their legal property (which admittedly can suck).
Or in other words, "Finders keepers" doesn't hold much water in U.S. courts.