Legal Overview
File sharing is not illegal so long as you abide by all
relevant copyright laws. Sharing, downloading and reproducing
copyrighted material without permission to do so is Illegal.
Please visit the following websites in order to get more information:
- FTC Consumer
Alert:
Click
here to view the original article as posted by the FTC
- For more
information on music & movie copyrights visit the
RIAA and
MPAA websites
-
Copyright Basics:
Click here to find out the basics about copyrights
-
Electronic Frontier Foundation:
Click here
for important information on Filesharing
-
Copyrights: Click here
to view copyright laws as stated by the US Government
-
If you are unsure of the copyrights on a specific file:
Click here to search the
Gov't registry
Here are some interesting rulings in
regards to the legality of file sharing programs:
-
USA Court Decision
-
Federal Judge Rules: File-swapping tools are legal
-
Canadian Court Decision -
Canada's Federal Court has ruled against (...) suing individuals...
- European
Court Decision
- The Supreme Court of
the Netherlands has thrown out an appeal...