LimeWire

Hi Everyone,

Some of my friends are using limewire and they say it's legal. Is that true? I'll use it if it's legal, but not if it isn't. Also do the programs contain viruses?

Thanks.

Ghost

Posting Whiz

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Ghost,

Limewire is not illegal. Downloading copyrighted material from limewire is illegal.

J_

J_Search

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Well the answer is pretty simple, yes it is illegal to download off of limewire. Limewire itself doesn't contain viruses, but you could download something that does have a virus.

Dark_Omen

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Well the answer is pretty simple, yes it is illegal to download off of limewire. Limewire itself doesn't contain viruses, but you could download something that does have a virus.

Dark_Omen,

Which law are you breaking when you download material not protected by copyright law?

None. Hence, downloading from limewire in itself is not illegal.

J_

J_Search

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Heck, it's even legal to download material protected by copyright law... if you have the author's permission. For example, I just downloaded J_Search's post.

Rashakil Fol

Super Senior Demiposter

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Rashakil Fol,

That will be $.99. Thank you.

J_

J_Search

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Correct. The posession of the software isn't illegal (in most countries, conceivably in some it could be).
In the US it would be illegal if Limewire were marketed specifically for the purpose of comitting a crime, because then the software would have been marketed as a tool for comitting crimes which is itself a crime.
The use of the software doesn't guarantee you will get a virus.
But using the software to download copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder is illegal in most jurisdictions (in some places it's not, those places don't recognise copyright laws, China is a prime example but there the software itself is likely illegal).
And when downloading copyrighted material (or rather attempting to) you're likely to do get a virus as a lot of such material is infected with all kinds of bad stuff.

jwenting

duckman

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Here in Australia, (as I'm sure you'll find that it is also elsewhere) the actual act of downloading illicit material is not, in itself, illegal. However having that material in your possesion IS illegal. So download all you want, as long as it's deleted from your hard drive or other storage medium the instant it's put on there! I'm sure your ISP would be happy to collect payment for the extra traffic you're creating for no reason whatsoever :)

Catweazle

Grandad

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hmm, so in Australia it would be legal to listen to streaming audio generated from pirated music but not to actually cache the stream on your machine while streaming it.
Interesting.

jwenting

duckman

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It'd also be illegal to broadcast it via streaming it on the internet :D

But people who get 'busted' for illegal content get busted because they have it, not because they've downloaded it. It's the software company who makes the p2p software who's responsible for the distribution part of the crime.

Catweazle

Grandad

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Ah, technicalities. You just can't live without them.

goldeagle2005

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Not technicalities at all. As long as the software has "substantial legal use" (that's the exact clause in the law prevailing in the US) and the company marketing it doesn't explicitly market it for illegal use (which some do) the software itself is legal.
When you opt to use it for illegal purposes that's your choice, and the company cannot be held liable because they didn't provide or create (at least for the courts) the software for that illegal purpose.

This is a direct means of protecting other businesses as well. For example many criminals use knifes and guns. If the manufacturer were to be held responsible for illegal use of their products, it would be impossible to produce those (and that includes kitchen knifes and military weapons which after all can be and have been stolen).
It would also include (for exampl) screwdrivers which have been used to break open doors and windows and on occasion to stab people to death.

jwenting

duckman

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limewire itself is legal. but if you do not have the authors' permissions, then it is illegal to download copyrighted material.

most exe's on limewire are viruses. i would suggest downloading them in .ZIP / .RAR formats, then checking the archives. if there is only one file (usually "setup.exe") then i would suggest running a virus scan on it. i would virus scan any .exe or other program files.

linux

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Hi Everyone,

Some of my friends are using limewire and they say it's legal. Is that true? I'll use it if it's legal, but not if it isn't. Also do the programs contain viruses?

Thanks.

depends on how person defines legal ! there is nothing wrong with useing limewire its just a music share program if it were that illlegal the feds would shut it down feel free to use it i belong to a gosple hub down load videos cds all the time :eek::):):!:

jerry_63935

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Limewire itself may not be illegal, but using it to share copyright material definitely is. It's like saying 'A gun isn't legal, but using it to kill someone definitely is'

depends on how person defines legal ! there is nothing wrong with useing limewire its just a music share program if it were that illlegal the feds would shut it down feel free to use it i belong to a gosple hub down load videos cds all the time :eek::):):!:

Downloading video CDs (Movies, music) etc definitelyis illegal. Not to worry though. I keep doing it too, though I use Direct Connect :mrgreen:

goldeagle2005

Finkus Stinkalotus

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as for virus's , using limewire pro i havent had any, although adaware is finding a lot more not than before, so it obviously leaves something there. one thing to be wary of though, is that they are cracking down on `illegal downloaders` here in the uk, due to the shear number of people involved i would think they would only be going for the big players / film distrobuters etc.

darren

darrenw89

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gggLimewire itself may not be illegal, but using it to share copyright material definitely is. It's like saying 'A gun isn't legal, but using it to kill someone definitely is'

Downloading video CDs (Movies, music) etc definitely is illegal. Not to worry though. I keep doing it too, though I use Direct Connect :mrgreen:guess you do everything by the book:rolleyes:

jerry_63935

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question, is limewire pro a service or just software? If it was software, couldn't you get it off of regula limewire?

TheNNS

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