Do games and music fall in the same arena? We have never heard anyone getting sued by a games developer.

Answer

Here is some info regarding P2P software and filesharing. If people would just take the time to read the fine print - and on some sites it is hidden well - the whole “is LimeWire legal” argument would be old news.

I’ve visited the websites of a few popular filesharing software distributors and looked for disclaimers, TOS, End User Licenses, etc. I have only quoted bits of relevent information to give you an idea of what to expect. For more detailed info follow the links I’ve provided or visit the sites yourself for the full text. Continue reading to see what I found.

LimeWire

The information is there if you know where to look. They could make it easier to find.

If you will click the “About” link at the top of the page first, here are some highlights of what you will find

Paragraph 1:

“Publish your original content to the world without setting up a website!”

The key to this sentence? your original content

Paragraph 2:

“LimeWire offers two versions of the software: LimeWire Basic which is free of charge; the other is LimeWire PRO which costs a

small fee, features faster download speeds and better search results, including up to 6 months of free updates and customer

support via email.”

Note: Take a good look at the Pro version you have to pay for. You are paying for advanced features. LimeWire says nothing

about paying to download anything.

Paragraph 3:

“Serving and distributing original content…”

ORIGINAL CONTENT Are you starting to see a pattern here?

The most important information, of course, is the fine print. At the bottom of each page on the LimeWire website is a small

unobtrusive link that says “Click Here for Important Information about Using P2P Software Safely” You absolutely must read the

pages the link takes you to. This is where all of the important information that can keep you out of trouble is located.

Here is the singlemost important paragraph on the entire site.

“Copyright Infringement: 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, may 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.”

But there is more. In the next section titled Excerpt from FTC document “File Sharing: A Fair Share? Maybe Not”:Shared Folders

In the second paragraph you’ll find this little tidbit:

“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, cautions that file-sharing can have a number of

risks. For example…you may download material that is protected by the copyright laws and find yourself mired in legal issues.”

I paraphrased this for the sake of brevity. to read the entire thing - if you don’t trust me - either Click on the link I mentioned. Or

use this URL http://www.limewire.com/english/content/ftc.shtml

Now go to the License page and read the it very carefully. You’ll find some interesting little things hidden in all that double talk.

GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE http://www.limewire.org/gnu.shtml

And on the Support Page you’ll find a link to LimeWire’s Support Forum www.limewire.com/forum.htm.

This link will take you to a page that says “Welcome to the LimeWire Message Forums” This page suggests you read The

Rules. So please follow the link and scroll down to The Rules where you will see what the LimeWire Forum’s stance is on certain

topics.

“1. Warez, copyright violation, or any other illegal activity may NOT be linked or expressed in any form. Topics discussing

techniques for violating these laws and messages containing locations of web sites or other servers hosting illegal content will be

silently removed. Multiple offenses will result in consequences.”

iMesh

iMesh does provide the information, but you, the User, have to really look for it in most instances. They could be a little more helpful.

Link: License Agreement http://imesh.com/license_agreement.shtml This is a must read! You’ll find some very interesting things on this page - some of which might surprise you. See some of the highlights below.

You might find sections 1.2 and 1.5 interesting and rather hypocritical if you are one of the people who are adamant that P2P software supports copyright infringement. It starts out like this…

“1.2 You agree not to alter, duplicate, modify, adapt, rent, lease, loan, sublicense, copy, reproduce, create derivative works from, distribute or provide others with the iMesh Software in whole or part…” [looks like iMesh wants to protect its own intellectual property]

“1.5 You acknowledge and agree that the iMesh Software…is protected by U.S. and international copyright, trademarks, patents and other proprietary rights and laws relating to Intellectual Property Rights.” [this is paraphrased but accurate, visit the link above to read the full text]

It isn’t until you get to Section 3 that iMesh addresses Copyright Infringement of anyone other than iMesh.

“3.1 Licensor respects the intellectual property of others, and we insist that our users do the same. Accordingly, You agree to comply with copyright and other laws. As a condition of using the iMesh Software, You agree that You must not use the Software to infringe the intellectual property or other rights of others, in any way. The unauthorized reproduction, distribution, modification, public display, communication to the public or public performance of copyrighted works is an infringement of copyright. Users are entirely responsible for their conduct and for ensuring that it complies with all applicable copyright and data-protection laws. You are hereby put on notice that You are entirely responsible for your content and for ensuring that it comports with all applicable laws, including all copyright and data-protection laws. In the event a user fails to comply with laws regarding copyrights or other intellectual property rights and data-protection and privacy, such a user may be exposed to civil and criminal liability, including possible fines and imprisonment. Licensor reserves the right to unilaterally terminate your License (A) upon an act of infringement in conjunction with the use of the iMesh Software, (B) if Licensor in its sole discretion believes that your conduct is harmful to the interests of Licensor or other users, or (C) for any other reason in Licensor’s sole discretion, with or without cause.”

You really should read the entire License - there is much more about copyright, your responsibilties, legal issues, iMesh’s disclaimers (meaning they are not responsible if you do something illegal), etc. They cover their behinds and leave User’s who don’t read the License or educate themselves to twist in the wind.

LINK: SUPPORT http://imesh.com/support.shtml [a disclaimer at the bottom of the page]

“IMPORTANT NOTE: iMesh respects the intellectual property of others, and we insist that our users do the same. Accordingly, you agree to comply with all applicable copyright and other laws. As a condition to use of iMesh you have agreed not to use the iMesh software to infringe the intellectual property or other rights of others, in any way.”

And finally,

LINK: iMesh Forum Rules http://imesh.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=44621&sid=36b8cc196eeb9889437b95795f1916a4

[kudos! disclaimer at the TOP of the iMesh Forum page]

“IMPORTANT NOTE: iMesh respects the intellectual property of others, and we insist that our users do the same. Accordingly, you agree to comply with copyright and other laws. As a condition to use the forums, you agree that you must not use the forums to infringe the intellectual property or other rights of others, in any way. Warez, copyright violation, or any other illegal activity may NOT be linked or expressed in any form. Topics discussing techniques for violating these laws and messages containing locations of web sites or other servers hosting illegal content will be silently removed. Multiple offenses will result in consequences.”

eDonkey

eDonkey seems very responsible about making relevent information available to its Users

Click Here for Important Information about Using P2P Software Safely. http://www.p2punited.org/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=17

[Kudos! This link was in plain sight on the front page]

Following this link leads a page that starts out with this statement:

“Copyright Infringement Liability - P2P technology makes it possible to share all kinds of information. Some information is

protected by copyright, which means that you generally need the copyright owner’s permission before you make it available to

other P2P users. Popular music, movies, games, and software are often protected by copyright.

Copyright infringement can result in significant monetary damages, fines and even criminal penalties. Some copyright owners

have filed civil lawsuits against individuals that they believe unlawfully distributed large numbers of copyrighted songs. You can

learn more about copyright laws at www.p2punited.org/copyright.php.”

Also check out this link - http://www.edonkey2000.com/copyright.html

eMule

eMule though related to eDonkey does not make any effort at all to inform Users of legalities on its website. IMO, this is very irresponsible. The only place I found any reference to legal use of eMule was in a post on the eMule Forum:

“The eMule team does not condone the use of its client for illegal activities. Therefore, any discussion explaining ways to

circumvent these organizations for the sole purpose to download illegal material will be locked/deleted when found.”

By this point, I got tired of doing research for people won’t do it for themselves and who, most likely will still argue with the facts. For those of you who care, there are other sites out there you can investigate (ie Grokster and others). Some are better about providing information to their Users than others, but few really put much effort into making said info easy to access.

Now if anyone can read the data I’ve provided for you and still say that downloading whatever you want is legal, you are either sink deep into denial anytime you hear something you don’t like or you enjoy arguing for the sake of the argument regardless of the facts.

I hope this has helped clear up a few points in the neverending Is LimeWire legal? debate. It’s been said again and again. Yes, LimeWire is legal. But not everything you choose to do with it is.