Slashdot Mirror
A Bit of Bittorrent Bother
Lave writes "A journalist at the BBC is replying to complaints about its recent Newsnight show, where it stated that using Bittorrent to download copyrighted material is theft. It's a very frank and honest account about the perceived realities of the internet and how traditional media represents it. From the article: '[One] answer is that we're totally scared of new media, because new media is railways and we're canals, and you all just know how that's going to end. So we seek to equate the internet with all bad things to scare you off it. At some corporate Freudian level, there's some truth to that accusation.'"
No. You can legally share copyrighted files if you have permission from the copyright owner. Even if you didn't, it would only be copyright infirgment not theft.
without a torrent, here you go
Bittorrent on Newsnight - BBC2
or try this one on mininova, no reg required.
BBC Newsnight Bittorent clip 2006 02 26
Really. Then I guess I'm going to jail for these Linux, firefox, etc. downloads I've done recently.
Unauthorized downloading of copyright material outside the the parameters of fair use is illegal.
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
Theft, the dishonest taking of property belonging to another person with the intention of depriving the owner permanently of its possession
Collins Concise English Dictionary, Third Edition
Yes it's illegal but please don't drink the **AA Kool Aid and conflate it with theft, theft is nicking some old dears purse, shoplifting etc etc. Rather more serious in my opinion, that's why the **AA like to confuse the two. Got to go, dinner is served.