Streaming a film online (not downloading).

Hi all

Ok, we all know watching live tv without a tv licence is illegal.

You can things on i player etc without a licence legally.

Download films (unles you have bought it legally of i tunes or something or it is a free release) is illegal. For both the downloader and distributer.

What i want to know, is hwat about streaming a film (or tv show, family guy, American dad etc), is that illigal for the viewer.

Can somebody who knows for a fact please answer this and if it is illegal for the viewer find me the exact law that states it is illegal.

Thank you

http://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/ukcs/docs/edupack.pdf

Also as you are only 17 the basic version

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/c-basicfacts.pdf You seem to be missing the point. It is against copyright laws for you to watch copyright films obviously. I don't understand why you don't think it is?

This law is and will always will be extremely hard to enforce. One of the reports i read on the guardian suggest that when one streaming site gets taken down 2 others takes its place.

YouTube and mega video don't get away with it, if a copyright owner wants their films take down, all the do is order the request, and within a few hours its taken down.

That is fair to say because you can't expect Google to go through every single video that is being upload to make sure it is not breaking copyright, as YouTube is in the USA they must ensure that the protect copyright so they offer feature that allows you to report the video.

"48 hours of video are uploaded every minute"

This is why copyright owners what ISP to filter the traffic so they don't have to fill out the forms, which take months until answer is known.

I'm not 17, i'm 22 and a research scientist, just because i dont understand technology and all that sort of stuff doesnt mean i'm thick so please don't talk to me as though I am. So what if can't work an ipod or know the ins and outs of copyright law, i don't know everything thats why i am quite happy to accept that if you find me somewhere that says watching a tv show on megavideo is illegal i will not do as i do not wish to break the law. In none of those documents does it says its an offence to watch it online, i dont even know for definate its pirated as it doesnt say anywhere it is, on most they say they are legal. I have also viewed hours of tv shows on websites that have been taken down as they infringe copyright but noone has ever said that watching them is against the law and neither me nor anyone i have ever heard of has been fined or sued for watching things on it even though the website was discovered to be illegal. Watching it isnt.

I will stop being patronizing once you admit its illegal. Ask any lawyers, just beaucse it doesn't say it in precise words doesn't mean it is
legal.

Second. If you believe that you are indeed correct please go to police station and confess that you have broken copyright laws.

Why o why do we have ignorant people lool

Find me proof and i'll believe you, i am happy to stop doing it but at the moment i don't believe watching say desperate housewives on megavideo via surfthechannel.com is illegal. surfthechannel also has a lucrative deal with discovery channel so why would a channel like that endorse something that was illegal. I find it very hard to believe something can be illegal if it isnt written down anywhere that it is. of course its not illegal if it doesnt say in precise words! The law is precise and in a court or if someone sued you then they would need to prove it writing that it is illegal, if they cant then it isnt. Im not ignorant, you still haven't given me proof, give me it and i will believe you. How do you know its illegal, just because you think that you cant watch free tv online doesnt mean its not legal, think bbc iplayer etc. ALso both videozer and megavideo say watching anything on them except porn is legal. http://www.videozer.com/toc.php and http://www.megavideo.com/?c=terms, on none of these terms does it say watching copyrighted material on it illegal. It also says everything on it is legal so surely you are safe to assume that anything on there abides by the law.

If i did that i would be wasting police time as it is not illegal. I if knew any lawyers i would ask them. I asked a friend who worked for a copyright office in hong kong and she said in the uk watching isnt illegal, they were trying unsuccessfully to make it illegal and were taking down links as fast as they can, posting the links or linking to them is but watching isnt.

It depends on the site you're streaming from.
If you watch an episode of Family Guy on TV, is it illegal? Well probably not, since the TV channel would have paid the makers of Family Guy a license fee to broadcast it. The same goes for websites. I think websites like Hulu and certain others (that are only accessible in the US, usually ) can allow you to stream legally. Otherwise it'd be illegal, which is why so many of these sites get taken down after copyright claims are made against them.

Whether you're likely to get punished for doing it though is a completely different matter. It's such a small crime, and so many people do it. The courts have probably got more important things to worry about.

You are missing the point completely. Copyright is a simple law to understand so why can't you understand it?

Also with your other remarks about bbc iplayer and youtube and hulu. This user covers the point.

Please show me the piece of copyright law that forbids one from watching online television, and i will totally agree with you. I would hate to break the law i really would, i am a moral human being and i would never access anything i couldnt get for free at a different time. I read both those documents you sent me and found nowhere that says WATCHING a copyrighted show is illegal. Its not like i am watching anything that isnt available on standard british tv but ijust watch it earlier and at convenient times for me as i am often out when the shows are on i also watch on sites with adverts as i found on a website somewhere that this often means its legal i agree its illegal to put links on, i perhaps agree sites like surfthechannel.com are perhaps illegal but FACT lost a court battle against them in 2009 and they are still there and also in partnership with discovery channel so perhaps not.

Additiont: you dont need a tv license to view bbc iplayer, only to view it live, ditto with itv player, 4od etc, also there was nothing in that document that said you need permission by the owner to watch, just to copy, perform, show it in public etc

First thing Bottom bit i agree haha I failed. Yes that is true i meant live TV

Please show me the piece of copyright law that forbids one from watching online television. These shows broadcast on tevelsion are protected by copyright laws.

2. Types of work to which copyright applies
i. Literary
Song lyrics, manuscripts, manuals, computer programs,
commercial documents, leaflets, newsletters and articles etc.
Computer programs regulations in 1992 also extended the
copyright of literary works to include computer programs.
ii. Dramatic
Plays, dance, etc.
iii. Musical
Recordings and score.
iv. Artistic
Photography, painting, sculptures, architecture, technical
drawings/diagrams, maps, logos, etc.
v. Typographical arrangement of published editions
Magazines, periodicals, etc.
vi. Sound recording
May be recordings of other copyright works, e.g. musical and
literary.
vii. Films
viii.Broadcasts and cable programs

http://www.ipo.gov.uk/cdpact1988.pdf Proof

i agree with you 100% that copyright applies to them, i totally do, give me some credit, but it doesnt say on that that watching it online is a breach of copyright. Putting it on is i totally agree but watching it isnt. Also i never watch live tv online,k i agree that is illegal

haha lool there is no difference between streaming and downloading okay. The law states that if you don't have permission from the copyright holder then you are breaking the law. That is obvious, how you do it makes no difference.

Hi all

Ok, we all know watching live tv without a tv licence is illegal.

You can things on i player etc without a licence legally.

Download films (unles you have bought it legally of i tunes or something or it is a free release) is illegal. For both the downloader and distributer.

What i want to know, is hwat about streaming a film (or tv show, family guy, American dad etc), is that illigal for the viewer.

Can somebody who knows for a fact please answer this and if it is illegal for the viewer find me the exact law that states it is illegal.

Thank you

Yes but it doesnt say watching is illegal, the closest thing i can think of it owning and watching a pirated dvd which is not illegal you just cant sell it on, see FACT website, i foudn it on there somewhere but cant find again this am). I think we need to just agree to disagree as of us can prove that the other is wrong!

But you are wrong. If you went outside and killed someone with a rock for example. Does the law state that if you kill someone with rock that this is murder? NO. Just because it doesn't specific say these words "streaming online" is irrelevant.

I HAVE PROVED IT (Links in other posts). IF YOU DO NOT OWN THE COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OR HAVE PERMISSION FROM THE COPYRIGHT OWNER IT IS ILLEGAL. This is the same as download a mp3 file. YOU ARE STILL DOWNLOADING THE FILM WHEN IT IS STREAMING. The law is simple and easy to understand this, so i'm wondering if you have not be educated?

You must be on drugs or delusional. Please continue to quote me when you know it is illegal if not don't bother cause you are in denial.

Have to agree with the other guy though. On the webpage that he linked you to:




So it says that you can't download copyright material without permission from the copyright holders.

And if you look, for example, here: http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/s/f/What-Is-Internet-Streaming.htm

I really think that you should not insult me, i have not insulted you as it is not productive,y