Quote:
Originally Posted by mr ploppy
Now that there is no need for any evidence they will be able to go after downloaders much more aggressively. Just put something up for download, collect all the IP's that try to download it, and away you go. It wouldn't even need to be the actual product you put up for download, it could just be an mp3, video or ebook that said "Ha ha ha, we got you! Say goodbye to your internet."
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There's a problem with that.
If the copyright owners make the file available themselves, it's not an unauthorized copy. If the IP holders upload the file with the intention of it being downloaded, the downloaders haven't broken any laws. If those people re-upload (which is generally the case with torrents), they're guilty of distribution--but they haven't made any unauthorized copies, and the new recipients may not have made any unauthorized copies (because the IP holders made copies available), and it's *really* hard to argue "damages" from copies you distributed yourself.
Copyright law was never designed to go after individuals who made a single copy for themselves or a friend. If someone bought pulp zines and copied their favorite stories out longhand and mailed them to a friend, copyright law *didn't care.* Technically, that's illegal, just like torrenting: you employ technology to make a copy and keep the original. Copyright law is oblivious to notions like "quality of the copy."
And if a file doesn't contain the expected contents but just a "gotcha" notice... there's no gotcha; there's nothing remotely illegal about having a file named "HARRY POTTER 1ST MOVIE.AVI" that contains nothing but a 10-second animation denouncing piracy.