LimeWire - Is it legal?
Defending Lime and Frost Wire
Limewire and Frostwire are both actually just like file download and sharing sites. They allow users to download content that other users upload or create and not all of it is legal. In fact, that's why these are typically highly suspected and debatable clients since over 90% of the content that users use them to download is illegally obtained whether it be software or music. Limewire and Frostwire aren't illegal because all they are doing is providing a way for users to share content amongst each other. The music that the two companies add has always been cleared by the coresponding record companies and artists for free download. However, it's truly the users' fault for using the programs to share illegal content. Even if you buy a song on iTunes, the license agreement that you accept when creating your iTunes account allows you to freely listen to and keep the music file on your computer but you aren't allowed to make copies of it and if it's on someone else's computer AND yours, well, that's a copy isn't it? Believe me I don't like it anymore than you do but sadly, it's the law. Music companies are demanding more and more and it shows in Apple's music price increase recently.
So can I still use these programs?
The question isn't "can I?" but "should I?" because obviously, you can still use and download the program because as I described above, technically, it's still legal. But you have to be willing to take the risk of downloading that illegal content because people actually do get caught. The lawsuits that content companies bring to Limewire and Frostwire aren't to shut them down because they've tried that and it's been very unsuccessful. The suits now are to gain access to the user databases so they can look up and track down who's been downloading illegal content from these sharing programs. This typically proves more profitable since suing for Copyright enfringement pays a hefty million + depending on how much content the user has downloaded. A month or two ago, somebody a mere 2 blocks from my house actually got sued for $12 million for just 22 illegal song downloads. So why isn't everyone getting caught and sued? Well, record companies don't have the time or money to go hunting down every pirate downloader in the United States, let alone the world. So, they focus on high offenders or just people that won't take too much money to bring to court so they can make a profit. Even though getting caught seems rare, you don't want it to be you. I don't wanna sound like your parent or some annoying person but seriously consider using services like Amazon or WalMart to buy your music for cheaper prices than iTunes. Amazon songs start at just $0.89 and can be synced into iTunes with a simple drag and drop.
Chris Thurber Jan 25, 2010 at 5:16 PM
Reader Comments (3)
LimeWire itself is legal.
Sharing files illegally with LimeWire is illegal.
App = Legal
What most people download with it = ILLEGAL!
They are under a court-ordered injunction now... Anyone explain what that means?