Quote:
Originally Posted by bill_mchale
Here is a couple of thoughts on the original issue.
1. I think most of us agree (Except for those who ascribe to the information must be free philosophy) that downloading a copy of a book that you never paid for is illegal (except from a legitimate public library).
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Many agree, but is it really true? Uploading a copy of a book without authorization is clearly illegal. I don't ascribe to the "information must be free" thing, but from a purely legal standpoint, whether downloading is actually illegal or not is a very cloudy question. It is not direct infringement, according to US law. It *may* be indirect infringement, but then you start getting into a whole ugly nest of things like intent... etc.
A downloader might be partly responsible for inducing an uploader to commit infringement, but they have not committed infringement themselves. I don't think anybody has ever been taken to court for downloading. It's always been for uploading without authorization, which is definitely illegal (assuming no fair use).