Are torrents against the law

Answer 1

Actually, no they are not! Many people get the intention that Torrents are illegal, but they are practically like ZIP files except usually contain larger contents like games, movies, song albums, etc so you need to practice certain methods like seeding to download it.

In fact, Torrents are used by professional game developers to effectively distribute the game. Live for Speed is a legitimate racing game, but they use Torrents to distribute it. However, the contents of a Torrent decides if it is legal or not.

If you put your own work, like lets say a home video in a Torrent and share it with the internet, it is not illegal. But if you put something copyright like LOST Season 2 then that is copyright infringement and it is illegal.

____________________________________________

Torrent software itself is not illegal, but the way you use it can be. If you are using it to download free music, books, movies, or any other copyrighted or licensed materials, then you are breaking the law. This pretty much covers most of the stuff that people are uploading. They are also breaking the law by uploading it. Pretty much any material from popular artist, authors, or actors will be copyrighted.

If a person writes their own song, plays it with their band, and uploads it themselves to get their name out there, then it would be legal.

If a person buys a new CD, rips it their computer, and uploads it onto the torrent, it is illegal.