Is it legal to download TV shows in the UK?

Originally Posted by Itshim

Does all this mean that PVR`s dvd recorders etc are in fact tools used in crime & could taken by a court of law !

Not if you read post #5 above

[Itshim]

being picky it said "will not" not can not

Originally Posted by foreverwar

Not if you read post #5 above

Originally Posted by Itshim

being picky it said "will not" not can not

post 5 states
"from what I have researched it isnt illegal to download tv and then use for personal use, what is illegal is the redistribution of it, so essentially if you are downloading it for free lets say eg. of p2p, then you are doing nothing wrong but the person sending you the file is."

Can't find "will not" or "can not" in that post - sorry.

[punky]

Originally Posted by Paul M

Many US shows are now available for download from the TV companys own website (a recent cancelled show was only available this way) - the companies also seem to turn a bit of a blind eye because they aren't directly losing money (you don't buy a tv show from them like you do a song) and it gives their shows more exposure.

I thought they were changing that attitude now, due to the immense popularity of DVD boxsets.

If you download a TV ep the day it was screened, you'll be less likely to buy the DVD boxset a few months later.

[Stuart]

Originally Posted by toots66

While the record companies would undoubtedly prefer us to buy the CD and the electronic version and any number of other formats of the same material over and over again, it's never a good idea to sue your best customers!

Which is why they prefer to go after the large scale suppliers. However, they do seem to operate on the assumption that someone who gets a pirate copy won't go out and buy the real thing.

Originally Posted by Itshim

Does all this mean that PVR`s dvd recorders etc are in fact tools used in crime & could taken by a court of law !

IIRC, the law specifically allows recording for timeshifting purposes. Basically, you are allowed to record something then watch it, as long as you don't keep it for longer than 28 days.

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by foreverwar

Not if you read post #5 above

Except point 5 is wrong

In English & Welsh law (don't know about Scotland or NI but I expect it's the same) it's legal to record a broadcast television programme for viewing at a more convenient time.

So if you use your PVR or DVD recorder to watch a programme later, once, then delete it, you're within the law.

If you use it to watch the programme more than once, or don't delete the recording after you watched it, you're not.

[AntiSilence]

Originally Posted by toots66

it's never a good idea to sue your best customers!

Tell that to the RIAA! Mind you, they like to try and sue dead people as well.

I also will not buy another CD since the last one would only play back in my PC at only 22kbits using a dodgy player. Of course, because I wanted to play it in my PC I *must* have been trying to copy it. Nothing to do with not having a stereo any more.

[Anonymouse]

Originally Posted by AntiSilence

Tell that to the RIAA! Mind you, they like to try and sue dead people as well.

I also will not buy another CD since the last one would only play back in my PC at only 22kbits using a dodgy player. Of course, because I wanted to play it in my PC I *must* have been trying to copy it. Nothing to do with not having a stereo any more.

Is the CD DRM-protected? If it is:

a) You might think about pursuing a legal case under the Trade Descriptions Act and the Sale of Goods Act. According to Philips, who still own the copyright on CD production, their definition of a CD - the only definition accepted by law - says that a CD is not a CD if it's copy-protected. I can't remember what they call it instead, but if it's copy-protected the record label does not have the legal right to call it a CD.

b) If the CD is on the Sony label, you may have installed a rootkit of some sort , which might explain the poor playback. Download and run BlackLight Beta just in case, especially if your PC starts displaying odd behaviour.

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Is the CD DRM-protected? If it is:

a) You might think about pursuing a legal case under the Trade Descriptions Act and the Sale of Goods Act. According to Philips, who still own the copyright on CD production, their definition of a CD - the only definition accepted by law - says that a CD is not a CD if it's copy-protected. I can't remember what they call it instead, but if it's copy-protected the record label does not have the legal right to call it a CD.

Yes, though chances are it doesn't actually say it's a CD anywhere on the packagaing or on the disk - though given that these things tend to be displayed & sold together with genuine CDs you may have a case under SOGA - not sure if it's ever been tested in court.

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

b) If the CD is on the Sony label, you may have installed a rootkit of some sort , which might explain the poor playback. Download and run BlackLight Beta just in case, especially if your PC starts displaying odd behaviour.

Were any of these abominations sold in the UK? I was under the impression they weren't, though I can't be bothered to search for the info Was it a grey import?

[Anonymouse]

Originally Posted by cookie_365

Yes, though chances are it doesn't actually say it's a CD anywhere on the packagaing or on the disk - though given that these things tend to be displayed & sold together with genuine CDs you may have a case under SOGA - not sure if it's ever been tested in court.

If the interior of the jewel case has the 'Compact Disc Digital Audio' logo moulded into the plastic and the CD is copy-protected, they're in trouble.

Originally Posted by cookie_365

Were any of these abominations sold in the UK? I was under the impression they weren't, though I can't be bothered to search for the info Was it a grey import?

Oh, they were. Believe me, they were. Mark Russinovich's blog is at:
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussino...e-too-far.aspx

- and there are several entries from people in the UK. Apparently Sony have stopped producing the XCP discs...just as well, or they'd have gone tits-up before too long.

What worries me now is that apparently Mark Russinovich has gone to work for Microsoft. I can't help but draw parallels between this and Anakin Skywalker...I'm going to have to go and read his latest blog. Then again, it might be a change for the better in that Microsoft will now have someone working for them who knows what he's doing.

[AntiSilence]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Is the CD DRM-protected? If it is:

a) You might think about pursuing a legal case under the Trade Descriptions Act and the Sale of Goods Act. According to Philips, who still own the copyright on CD production, their definition of a CD - the only definition accepted by law - says that a CD is not a CD if it's copy-protected. I can't remember what they call it instead, but if it's copy-protected the record label does not have the legal right to call it a CD.

b) If the CD is on the Sony label, you may have installed a rootkit of some sort , which might explain the poor playback. Download and run BlackLight Beta just in case, especially if your PC starts displaying odd behaviour.

Yes, the CD is copy protected (but not very well ). I tried ripping it under XP and it was just listed as a big data track so not rippable. But, under Win2k, they were listed as the real audio tracks. So I ripped it to MP3 to listen to it properly.

I know about the bit about not being able to call it a CD, but I'm not sure what it says on it without digging it out of a box somewhere! And, I seem to recall that it was on the Sony label then I read about their nice little rootkit. But fortunately, I'd reinstalled XP since then on a new hard drive, but had already MP3'd it

---------- Post added at 07:12 ---------- Previous post was at 07:11 ----------

Originally Posted by cookie_365

Yes, though chances are it doesn't actually say it's a CD anywhere on the packagaing or on the disk - though given that these things tend to be displayed & sold together with genuine CDs you may have a case under SOGA - not sure if it's ever been tested in court.



Were any of these abominations sold in the UK? I was under the impression they weren't, though I can't be bothered to search for the info Was it a grey import?

Yes, they were sold in the UK. And no, it's not a grey import. It's the full UK version.

Originally Posted by Gavin

I thought they were changing that attitude now, due to the immense popularity of DVD boxsets.

If you download a TV ep the day it was screened, you'll be less likely to buy the DVD boxset a few months later.

Actually, I thought recent surveys showed the opposite - people who had downloaded material were more likely to buy the originals.

[cookie_365]

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

If the interior of the jewel case has the 'Compact Disc Digital Audio' logo moulded into the plastic and the CD is copy-protected, they're in trouble.

Indeed - can't help laughing at the Amazon screenshot on your link - 'Content/Copy Protected CD'. So is it content/copy protected, or is at a CD?

Originally Posted by Anonymouse

Oh, they were. Believe me, they were. Mark Russinovich's blog is at:
http://blogs.technet.com/markrussino...e-too-far.aspx

- and there are several entries from people in the UK. Apparently Sony have stopped producing the XCP discs...just as well, or they'd have gone tits-up before too long.

What worries me now is that apparently Mark Russinovich has gone to work for Microsoft. I can't help but draw parallels between this and Anakin Skywalker...I'm going to have to go and read his latest blog. Then again, it might be a change for the better in that Microsoft will now have someone working for them who knows what he's doing.

Well, Microsoft weren't responsible for Sony's software, were they? Shame he hasn't gone to work for Sony - their software is just abysmal

[Itshim]

"We believe that we now need to make a clear and public distinction between copying for your own use and copying for dissemination to third parties and make it unequivocally clear to the consumer that if they copy their CDs for their own private use in order to move the music from format to format "we will not pursue them."* Here it is

[Chrysalis]

Originally Posted by Paul M

Actually, I thought recent surveys showed the opposite - people who had downloaded material were more likely to buy the originals.

In my case thats happened, I have downloaded shows that I would never have thought of watching and then gained interest, a couple of these shows I have purchased dvd box sets.