I think I'm being sued...

Monkeynut · 19 Mar 2008 at 17:54

Azagoth said:
Care to justify that statement and enlighten us as to what this "hidden agenda" is? Preferably in English if you don't mind.

Well, it seems that by downloading Ubuntu via torrent I have a hidden agenda?

glitch · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:03

Silly question, but why would you download free software from a torrent and not the official website? Does it make the download faster or more reliable?

Hilly · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:09

glitch said:
Silly question, but why would you download free software from a torrent and not the official website? Does it make the download faster or more reliable?

It can make it faster, as torrents are peer to peer, every one will be uploading and downloading, depending on the amount of peers you connect too, the faster the download will be.

ScarySquirrel · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:18

Is he in jail yet?

*Moangroan* · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:22

In jail...its a civil case the worst is a fine and baliffs.

Jotun · 19 Mar 2008 at 18:41

jaybd said:
its people that d/l cause high prices for the rest of us there is no need to d/l when u can rent if not locally then via the internet.

So you think if everyone bought/rented the games that the prices of said games would be less?

dotnetwill · 19 Mar 2008 at 19:24

glitch said:
Silly question, but why would you download free software from a torrent and not the official website? Does it make the download faster or more reliable?

a lot of official sites use Bittorrent technology to distribute it's software to save on bandwidth, many Linux distros are done this way as well as a lot of Podcasts as it saves a lot of money

Tefal · 19 Mar 2008 at 19:45

glitch said:
Silly question, but why would you download free software from a torrent and not the official website? Does it make the download faster or more reliable?

Also if it's a very big file (linux etc) you can pause it and stop it for period of time, if you need to restart pc or use internet at full speed for something else.

bigredshark · 19 Mar 2008 at 20:00

dotnetwill said:
a lot of official sites use Bittorrent technology to distribute it's software to save on bandwidth, many Linux distros are done this way as well as a lot of Podcasts as it saves a lot of money

Care to take a guess at the percentage of bittorrent traffic which is legal?

I agree with him partly, you break the law and steal copyrighted material (whatever your ideological thoughts on the matter are, the law says it's not on) and you deserve to get fined if you get caught. It's the risk you take.

A few people have said in here that they're worried about downloading stuff now, well thats a win for record companies and the rest of them, it's exactly what they want.

I disapprove of piracy when it comes to music and film (as it takes talent and money, and people deserve to paid for it) but I'm a strong supporter of creative commons and open source stuff (even contribute a little) on the programming side.

Good luck anyway, the law firm in question I've commented on before, some of their tactics are very dubious.

rs125 · 19 Mar 2008 at 20:10

Lol at the keyboard warriors who have never done anything wrong in there lives - idiots......

Just had a quick flick through the thread but couldn't find it..whats the settlement fee then?

Tefal · 19 Mar 2008 at 20:11

bigredshark said:
I agree with him partly, you break the law and steal copyrighted material (whatever your ideological thoughts on the matter are, the law says it's not on)

The the law also says it's not stealing, so you shouldn't call it that if your using the law in your argument

Burnsy2023 · 19 Mar 2008 at 20:45

Tefal said:
The the law also says it's not stealing, so you shouldn't call it that if your using the law in your argument

Copyright theft is a common term used in relation to contravention of the Copyright, designs and Patents Act, so yes, he can use stealing in a general sense

Burnsy

frosty03 · 19 Mar 2008 at 21:11

Burnsy2023 said:
Copyright theft is a common term used in relation to contravention of the Copyright, designs and Patents Act, so yes, he can use stealing in a general sense

Burnsy

The actual term is "copyright infringement" or breaking/infringing the copyright law. You cannot just equate it to "theft". It being common term doesnt mean its accurate or right.

Burnsy2023 · 19 Mar 2008 at 22:08

frosty03 said:
You cannot just equate it to "theft".

In common usage you can. Theft/stealing as defined by the OED is "take (something) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it"

Isn't that exactly what a copyright infringement is?

Edit: even in a legal sense intellectual property is considered intangible property that can be stolen.

Burnsy

Tefal · 19 Mar 2008 at 22:11

Burnsy2023 said:
In common usage you can. Theft/stealing as defined by the OED is "take (something) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it"

Isn't that exactly what a copyright infringement is?

Burnsy

No as you are not "taking" something, you are copying it, it is closer to forgery than theft.

For example f you steal a game from a shop, you are charged with theft, not copyright infringement, as after all if you are relating piracy like this to theft then you should be liable for both if you shoplift.

Also copyright infringement is a civil case, theft is criminal, so it shows the clear and separate degrees of seriousness.

Burnsy2023 · 19 Mar 2008 at 22:21

Tefal said:
No as you are not "taking" something, you are copying it, it is closer to forgery than theft.

That's debatable. Depends on your definition of 'take', one of which is to "gain possession".

Tefal said:
Also copyright infringement is a civil case, theft is criminal, so it shows the clear and separate degrees of seriousness.

Creating an infringing article is a criminal offence under s.107 of the CDPA.

Burnsy

frosty03 · 19 Mar 2008 at 22:25

Burnsy2023 said:
In common usage you can. Theft/stealing as defined by the OED is "take (something) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it"

Isn't that exactly what a copyright infringement is?

Edit: even in a legal sense intellectual property is considered intangible property that can be stolen.

That's debatable. Depends on your definition of 'take', one of which is to "gain possession".

Burnsy

No. You can copy an idea, but you cannot "steal" it, since you're not depriving the other person of the said idea. If you copy the patented process to make a particular compound, it doesnt mean that the owner of that patent can no longer manufacture the compound. All you've done is to deprive him of royalties, which itself is the crime. There is a very important distinction to be made between the two.

Possession hasnt changed hands. Both now "possess" the said item, since there are now 2 items.

Burnsy2023 · 19 Mar 2008 at 22:28

frosty03 said:
No. You can copy an idea, but you cannot "steal" it, since you're not depriving the other person of the said idea. If you copy the patented process to make a particular compound, it doesnt mean that the owner of that patent can no longer manufacture the compound. All you've done is to deprive him of royalties, which itself is the crime. There is a very important distinction to be made between the two.

Possession hasnt changed hands. Both now "possess" the said item, since there are now 2 items.

Ok, I'll admit it isn't in the legal definition of theft which is very specific, but in common usage it's completely valid.

Burnsy

Nanoman · 19 Mar 2008 at 23:43

Havent read too much of the thread so probably been mentioned but to the op couldnt you just buy the real game if youre paranoid and claim backup rights or summat? Or would that just not work?

Burnsy2023 · 19 Mar 2008 at 23:49

Nanoman said:
Havent read too much of the thread so probably been mentioned but to the op couldnt you just buy the real game if youre paranoid and claim backup rights or summat? Or would that just not work?

You're assuming you have backup rights

Burnsy