once and for all, is this legal? it seems to me that is legal to have limewire stored on your computer, but downloading copyrighted material is illegal? So, basically, downloading pretty much any music at all is illegal. I'm HORRIBLY sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I see all of the Limewire users with 1,000+ songs, programs, photos, etc., on their computers, and I have under 200 songs. Does this make me more susceptible to being caught? I just found out after downloading all those songs that I can get in trouble for it. So, I don't want to get in trouble, and I will stop if it is illegal. Please clear this up for me. Thanks

You've read the basics. Yes, the software is legal; no, LW doesn't give you the right to download stuff that isn't authorized.

How do you know if the file you want to download is authorized? Well, there is no clear way to know easily, so you're left with your best judgement. Use the magnetmix button: that material is clearly authorized for sharing.

Actually, I rather find that the fun of LW is finding material that is not illegitimate. For example, many people share images. Just search for default digital camera filename conventions, like "dsc .jpg" to see what I mean. Among the thousands of home photos that only grandma will enjoy, there are some pretty cool ones.

For more detailed info about YOUR situation, in your country, it sounds like you need legal advice.

btw--asking for legal advice in an online forum is like asking for medical advice in a coffee shop. And you've asked in the wrong forum. This one is like the loading dock

I'm glad someone finally answered. I heard that I should ask my local Lawyer? And do you know where I can find the local/state/country rules regarding this?

how is anyone supposed to try to answer that? Too many smart-*** answers come to mind

hehe--anyway, here goes:

for Canada, I'd start with contacting the folks at http://www.canfli.org/index.php

for the US, it looks like the EFF is a good starting point
http://www.eff.com/

and btw--if you read through the articles, you'll see the rules are changing amost every month. The legal authorities around the world are trying to sort out the copyright rules for the new digital situation.

So, the bottom line is next week eveything you do on the internet might be legal/illegal/maybe legal.

You're welcome.

I had no idea al this stuff was illegal. If you've already downloaded, is their a way to delete the trace? Or at least make it obvious that you're not downloading anymore? And I asked this on a different forum too, am I as likely to get caught if I have WAY less files than someone else? I've seen people with 2,000+, and I only have 201. Is it completely random? Or is it the big dogs first? This is so freaking confusing.

sigh. what country are you in?

In Canada and Britain, it looks like music (at least) downloads are legal. Having copyright material in your shared folder may even be legal. . . . or "not illegal" . . . or whatever the courts call it.

The point is, there is a strong push on the part of some trade organizations like the RIAA and the MPAA to redirect the flow only through their pockets . However, it's as if they are trying to catch all the water flowing over Niagra falls.

Can you be traced? I suppose if "they" really wanted to. Once the information is "out there," you cannot erase it from your ISP's logs, or whomever recorded it. If you really want to be more anonymous on the net, google "anonymous filesharing."

Just make up your own mind what is fair, and lobby or support the groups who think like you.

Some infringing material is in your shared folder? Well, have you helped advertise the "product?" Did you go out and purchase what you liked?

Since the legal situation is far from clear, I just do what I think is fair and ethical in the meantime, and hope for clearer guidelines in the future. YMMV

I am in the USA, in Michigan. I think that has to be specific enough. I've tried every search engine i know, and "submask", "false IP" don't come up with anything. A friend of mine told me a "submask" hides your IP address, by instead giving out a fake address. I will try googling that, back in a few with the info.

sorry, by the way, I just registered as this, so no more nmsoccer20

The google Search comes out with a few informational articles from USA TODAY on the battles raging with file sharing, and there are a few programs available to download that are, "completely anonymous"...... Yeah right. Honestly though, I am getting pretty worried about the consequences. I read an article, (thanks to the Google search), about a group of 23 UK "file swappers" that were fined between 3,000 and 8,000 per song. PER SONG. That's a hell of a lot of money for most of us.

Ah! Harvard country. The folks at Groklaw are really into the legal issues surrounding Intellectual Property. See http://www.groklaw.net/ and start making contacts.

Cheers, and welcome to the forums, O-latest-Registrant. You can handle all the US legal questions now

(if you PM a moderator, one can probably move this thread to a better forum, like the open discussion forum at http://www.gnutellaforums.com/forumd...?s=&forumid=29 )