A Small Q RE: Illegal Downloading
 

I have bought quite a lot of CDs and upload them to my computer for my iPod, blahblahblah. However - the file sizes for these songs are ridiculously large and occupy a worrying amount of space on said iPod.

Therefore, is really illegal to download a smaller file size of something that you've paid for, for convenience's sake?

I mean, technically, it probably is, put I've but this in serious debates rather than music because it's open to debate rather than questioning whether it is or isn't illegal :p

From one side it would be like buying a legit. DVD and then a pirate DVD - but this would be lining the piracy industry's pockets. However, with music downloads they're free and noone makes a profit. So nobody's really losing anything, and nobody's making money from criminal distribution, it just means I can put more stuff onto me gizmo. Yet I'd probably still get nicked?

I think it's legal because you legit payed your price for the copyrighted material, you now just have it in a different form.

I know it's perfectly legal to download old games as back up as long as you have the originals.

I don't think it is legal as you only payed for one copy, but either way does it really matter? :joker:

man dont be afraid of getting caught
ive been downloading for like 5 years and i never been caught

It depends where you download them from if your worried about getting caught :P

yeah
and what you download
its incredibly obvious which ones are fake and which are legit

Nobody's interested in catching the downloaders anyway, They just wanna catch the providers.

It is perfectly legitimate to download backups of music, games and videos you have legitimately bought. Provided it is simply for backup as opposed to making the odd 20 copies for mates at work and a couple of dozen for friends at the pub.

If for example you bought a new music cd and wanted a copy in MP3 on your MP3 player you could download an MP3 version of it and copy it straight onto your player, as opposed to converting the original cd on your computer.

Downloading music games and videos is not in itself a crime nor is possession of downloaded material, its intentions, how long you have had the download and if you have actually used it in an illegal way.

From an 'Impending Lawsuit POV' you really have an intriguing argument for a legitimate intention that does not hurt the music industry and one might even argue makes it more likely you buy more CDs when you know you can find copies to go along with them.

If you raft over to the other side of the pond and in Canada the 'last thing' that came from the courts was something like this:
- An individual can download an MP3 song from an album and they may possess it and listen to it just for themselves.
So far this is 'not illegal'.
However, if they 'share' this copy then they have somehow done something illegal even if they are not 'selling it'.
If they play the MP3 for others or give it to others then its 'not not illegal',
and,
If they download all the MP3s that would make up the entire album its 'not not illegal'.
Yes, it is all bizarre lawyer-language and legal technicality weirdness and last I heard that was the 'current state' but is all pending more stages, appeals and ongoing decisions etc blah etc.

I can't see how anyone would ever attempt to prosecute your situation because its been mentioned here your intention is unique and does not actually 'replace' a music purchase.
Or does it?
Because the other might argue you ought to purchase the CD form formats and then they offer MP3 format at iTunes or wherever?

But no way I see your case being hassled. I think you would win if it ever went to court.

The next question though... would you even want the hassle of being investigated and maybe threatened with court proceedings even if you knew you could win?

Aren't CD audio files required to be in wav format to make them readable on a CD player? If so I think you can get software to convert them into smaller MP3 files.

There are lots of different formats of music available MP2, MP3,MP4a Flac, AAC WAV, WMA, OGG, AIFF.

A lot of music converters like Switch, BurnIt can convert to and from most. Some burning software including Windows media player will convert and burn/save.

Why aren't you using an MP3 converter to make them into the smaller size, before storing them on your PC and/or iPod?

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I DON'T KNOW ah/

This

you can FLAC things illegally them change them to 360s/128s whatever suits MP3 player n quality. You can rip yer own CDs at whaterver rate you choose using free software

I rip to FLAC as have a 1TB on PC, rip to 360s again to put on iPod

lily - love your sig - I've been asking where the F it was for about a month - both me and mate had deleted it from 2006 - Ma Arse

I had to make a new one Claymores.. I deleted the original one too, and Mars have changed their font since then, so I made this one myself and stuck the africa part on it too.

Shaun, I'll teach you how to sort yer music out. You should know by now to ask me about tecky stuff anyway.. I am an effing nerd after all.. :P

Lil - it has now been sent to all mates across Scotland, 4 places in Germany, one Argentina, one Brazil, one USA - then they laugh I will give you credit - fame on 3 continents!

haha.. not too bad.. :) I have my watermark on it.. the little cat in the corner. I put it on everything I create..

It's super - we have been gooogling like crazy and asking people with old PCs to search old pics

I found the original before I made the new one .. here it is:

http://i50.tinypic.com/vqqotl.jpg

I just decided to make the new one to represent Mars new font.

See... old Mars font:

http://www.chocolate.org/choclove/mars-bar.gif


New Mars font:

http://gothamist.com/attachments/nyc_toby/mars_bar.jpg

It's brill - 3 continents know yer new one - already giggles back from USA

This thread has been hijacked by green eyed porridge ****,

Get back cat stranglers. None of your anti England propoganda here.

SNP. SNP. SNP.

They will get the Illegal providers
but they will take down all those that used it,
as well.


3 strikes and you are shut off
is fair,
you know it is a Criminal action
you get fair warnings.




Life In The City.

Not for the moment anyway, last I heard of the 3 strikes rule the EU was forbiding it as they thought the internet was apart of human rights.