Limewire

The act of downloading music which is being shared by other users, is illegal, however the authorities will prosecute those who are sharing a "significant amount of music" - like drugs they will go after the DEALERS not the USERS.

More input and advice:

• The main question here is not whether Limewire is illegal, but if mp3 sharing, or sharing of any files/applications for that matter, is illegal. There have been lots of lawsuits where the music recording industry have tried to serve hefty fines etc to the companies/individuals who encourage and facilitate the sharing of files between people. However in recent court cases the decision has been made that it is not plausible to adequately place blame on people, since all software such as Limewire does is act as a catalyst. The heart and soul of Limewire, WinMX and KaZaa is the people, like you or I, that download files and likewise make files on our own PC's available for others. In order to 'win', the recording industry would have to sue each and every one of us, which would simply be a too difficult and costly task. By taking software such as Limwire off the internet by way of force, all that would happen is that another group of individuals would come up with somehting new, and another head would grow in its' place. It's like trying to police an individual taking a new CD that he bought over to his friend's house and copying it on to his PC: virtually impossible.

• As we all know, technically, ftp is legal in itself as a mode of communication and data transfer. It has really (unbelievably) been used since not long after the second world war. The net was invented as a communication method that would be almost self-healing after an attack, by offering billions of alternative routes for data transfer. In itself it is pure genious and gives us communication that our ancestors would only dream of. Music piracy has shot up tenfold since the advent of programmes like Napster. The US & UK governments thought the problems had died when they passed acts that shut these sites down. These primative fileshare sites actively promoted the fact that they offered music free to download through their shareware. But the new breed is VERY different. Programmes like KaZaa, Limewire, WinMX and E.Donkey, are just bacteria that feed on the source that almost all internet users harbour in their own homes. A piece of software is an appliance. Like a tumbledryer. A tumbledrier dries your clothes. An FTP application downloads files. It doesn't know what a particular file is, what it shows, or how it works. It just does its job. But the pitfall is that this software can pass copyrighted music, unreleased Hollywood blockbusters, expensive software, child pornography, important and censored documents/images/films in an unbiased way between countries, individuals, criminals and governments. So, Limewire IS technically legal. But it and programmes like it have a finite lifespan and I would wager that within the next few years (maybe 6 at the most), Filesharing will be another heavily taxed weapon in our worldwide governmental arsenal. It's the first opportunity for the world to get something for free. (REALLY FREE). Grab the chance now and go forth my children and get what you need (but make sure it's legal) Just because you can get it, it doesn't mean that the stuff you have is legal. Steer clear of terrorism movies/ images, child porn, pornography of a corrupt nature in general, and any file that your conscience and society will not accept. But otherwise, ENJOY this rare blip in history when the majority notched up a rare victory on the bedpost of our existence.

• Limewire is completely illegal. One of the main reasons this is illegal is because, artists release their music to get money off of it. If u take their music for free right of the internet, it's like stealing their music, which is also like stealing money from record companies.

• It is just as illegal to allow people to upload from you than it is to download from others. You have become a file sharer and they take it just as seriously as file downloaders. Trust me. I personally now know TWO people who were caught. Not on Limewire but on Imesh. It is not worth it. Your whole life changes once you get sued. You put yourself (family) at risk of paying thousands of dollars because of a few moments of weakness. "I gotta have that song!" I did it too! My friends learned just how much they REALLY needed all those songs once it happened. The answer was they didn't NEED them at all. Your follow up question "will I get caught?" is, I'm sorry to say, just a bit out of touch with what's going on out there. People, your NEW experts should not be the ones responding to this saying its legal, but others who have gotten caught! Do some research on Google with such words as music industry sues or lawsuit, and see the world from the other perspective. They are totally serious and totally committed to busting as many people as they can. Hope this helps someone out there. Go get some legal advice on this.

• Limewire is Legal. There was a recent court case betwenn the RIAA and another P2P file sharing client and the file sharing client won. This is because the software is intended to help people distribute files and how can the people that have that software be held accountable for the others that use it illegaly. If you share copyrighted metarial it is illegal if you share pics and documents which aren't copyrighted it is 100% legal.

• Don't be fooled by the "This Product is 100% Legal" that Kazaa but on their website. If you read it carefully it says that the downloading of the product is indeed legal, and so is downloading music, if its NOT COPYRIGHTED. Almost ALL music is copyrighted, therefore downloading them is illegal.

• This has been said above, but here it is black and white, clear as crystal: "Copyright laws and laws pertaining to patents and inventions protect original works of authorship and inventions. Individuals who reproduce, distribute copies, receive copies, publicly perform or display works or inventions other than their own and without the consent of the owners or holders of rights, or their authorized agents, in original works of authorship or inventions, n(m)ay be in violation of copyright, patent or other intellectual property infringement. Lime Wire LLC does not encourage or condone the illegal copying of copyrighted material. This is not intended to be legal counsel or advice. If you have any questions, consult your attorney." Reference: http://www.limewire.com/English/content/ftc.shtml#8f

• Anyone paying for "100% legal" file sharing sites have been fooled. You could have stuck with any of the popular free sites and would be in the same boat regardless but with a little more money in your pocket. No one has been caught or sued yet that has ONLY DOWNLOADED music. Users uploading (assuming larger quantities) are the ones that have been fined. Granted, it may happen where downloaders are caught but for now, those who block all sharing along with turning off the function for the computer to be used as a supernode, have a much better chance at avoiding trouble.

• In a sense Limewire is legal, but in another sense it's illegal. The fact right now is that Limewire, Kazaa, etc., are legal because it is simply peer to peer file sharing, like taking a CD to a friends house and letting him take the music on to his computer (ripping). This is legal, in a sense so is Limewire then, because the music comes from an original CD that someone paid money to get and they are simply sharing it to selected people. The problem that the recording companies and artists have is the MASS FILE SHARING, meaning the sharing of the song to more than 5 people. In fact it's perfectly legal for anyone to share a file for free to 5 or less people. Basically like burning a game or a CD and giving it to your girlfriend or something. So is Limewire legal? YES. But if they want to take a further step they might want to make a "expiration system". Basically a program that automatically deletes songs off the online list after it's been downloaded 5 times. So there, LimeWire is technically legal.

• Whenever you don't pay for some download, with the exception of PC game demos, the free download files are illegal.

• LimeWire is a tool, just like a knife. Tools have their roles in various tasks. Possessing the knife doesnt commit the crime. Its the person the used the knife that commits the crime. One's focus should not be on the existence of Limewire, but on the particular wrong-doing the happens with it.

When a piece of work by an artist (in this case, a song) becomes available to the general public it is considered part of the 'Public Domain'. It can become part of the public domain for three reasons: (1) the term of the copyright has expired, (2) the original author failed to gain a satisficatory copyright, or (3) it a work belonging to the United States government.

There are numerous sites available with information for songs that are currently in the public domain. A Google search with the following key words 'public domain' and 'music' will yield thousands of hits with information. One of the many useful sites is http://www.pdmusic.org/ which gives a list of genres, artists, and songs that are currently available for public use.

You are subject to lawsuits if you violate these copyrights. Here is advice and input on the question of whether you will get sued for using LimeWire:

• Seems like "sharing" and "downloading" are different. if you look into all these lawsuits, at LEAST the VAST majority are people that are allowing their computers to be used as "supernodes", and I would bet money that ALL of the lawsuits are against people that have a shared folder on their computer with copywrited files on it, and they are allowing people to download from THEM. If you don't SHARE the music that you DOWNLOAD, then these lawyers probably won't even give you a second look. They have MUCH bigger fish to fry, with all the fools out there sharing a million files a day off their "downloaded music" folder. (Of course, these are the same fools that keep programs like LimeWire and KaZaa from becoming a digital DESERT with no files on them, so I don't mean to sound UNGRATEFUL; I'm just saying those are the ones getting sued.)

• If you download a dummy file

• There is always the chance that you will be one of the unfortunate ones who are caught and made an example of. You have to decide if using Limewire or similar software in an illegal manner - and sharing music, software, or any other copyright protected material IS illegal - is worth the risk. Personally, it's not a risk I would be willing to take. Remember, just because "everyone else is doing it" doesn't change the fact that it is legally, morally and ethically wrong. People DO get caught and they DO get prosecuted. You obviously know it's wrong or you wouldn't be concerned, correct? Do the right thing and you won't ever have to worry about getting sued.

• It seems to me that the record companies and their people are trying to intimidate everyone into believing that file sharing is illegal. If I own the CD, cassette, or vinyl LP, and if it is legal to download those songs - so I don't have to make MP3's myself, then everyone needs to know they can do that without threats from anyone. If that is not legal, then it should be a simple answer from the experts. What about X-mas music. Can the same song be copyrighted by many different people? What about classical music that was written 200 years ago. Copyrighted? Graphics, stories, spreadsheets and many many other documents are perfectly legal to share without interference from any law enforcement.

• You might get sued if you use LimeWire. The program is legal. However, if you use it to download music and other programs, it is illegal. If you were downloading uncopyrighted music, then the program would be legal. However, since almost all music is copyrighted, the program is very illegal. LimeWire and Kazaa are file sharing programs. This means that the files that you can download on these programs are files that are being shared with billions of other people across the globe. If you have downloaded these programs into your hard drive, they are still shared programs. Because these programs are in your hard drive, they are still being shared, so essentially, your hard drive is being shared as well. If you have done any school assignments on your computer, these have your first and last name on them. This opens up your identity to the public. Also, because these files are still being shared from your hard drive, law enforcement can target your internet connection by using your IP (Internet Protocol) address, and using these numbers (of your IP address), they can target you. To see what I'm talking about, and to see just how scary this is, click on the link. If law enforcement finds you, you will probably have to pay a fine to all of the recording companies or distributors of the songs/programs that you have downloaded, and you may be sued.

• jumba6- I do not think that it is illegal at all. If you never used it then you may not know but you have to pay for limewire just like people pay for rhapsody. they are the same exact thing except for limewire is a hell of a lot cheaper.

• Rule of Thumb- You get sued if you download and distribute, sell, share the music. You get fined if you download the music for personal use.