Posted by Hop-Frog on 08/09/06 13:55

spam@uce.gov (Bob) wrote in news:44d9e1e9.4413687@news-
server.houston.rr.com:

> On 8 Aug 2006 22:44:54 -0700, "Gadz" <gadzometer@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It's like when someone tapes a movie of TV onto
>>a video tape. How many people are theives now? The TV channels still
>>get paid advertising, they still buy the series from the producers, the
>>world still turns. And we get to see the series as soon as we
>>can...even if we aren't able to watch it the day it airs on the sci-fi
>>channel.
>
> And you can even give a friend your tape so he can watch it at his
> leisure. What you cannot do is engage in any kind of commercial
> activity with the tape.
>
> I have a million friends who let me see their recordings. I do not
> engage in any kind of commercial activity. I am not a thief, no matter
> what the leftist queers claim.

Actually, as I recall, the legal situation in the US is that fair use
includes sharing recordings with a few friends. Those recordings cannot
be distributed publicly. Even if you can convincingly claim that those
million people are close friends, those friends are still distributing
the files publicly (in the sense that anyone who connects to the swarm is
allowed to download). Thus, BT distribution of TV is *technically*
illegal because of its public nature, commercial or not.[1]

Also, again as I recall, this was a legal precedent set by a court case--
i.e., the decision of a judge--not legislative action. In US law,
precedent is as relevant as legislation.

All of this is not to say that your position is wrong, or even that I
disagree with the position. But it's much more complex than the
"Congress hasn't made it illegal, so it's legal" that you seem to be
advocating.

--
I am simply Hop-Frog, the jester--and this is my last jest.

[1] This is possibly what's behind some of the private trackers' policies
on invites. If all invites really went to people whom the inviter knew
well, one could argue that the file distribution isn't public. On the
other hand, if anyone can get an invite just by asking in alt.bittorrent,
then that argument falls through pretty quickly.

[Back to original message]