Need confirmation whether it is illegal or not

[WallCroft]

I'm currently living in the US right now and I'm awared of this "downloading licensed stuffs is illegal". But is downloading stuffs like artbooks or H-Doujinshi from BakaBt considered to be illegal in the US? I'm living in Seattle if that's any help.

[sdedalus83]

I'm currently living in the US right now and I'm awared of this "downloading licensed stuffs is illegal". But is downloading stuffs like artbooks or H-Doujinshi from BakaBt considered to be illegal in the US? I'm living in Seattle if that's any help.

Yes it's illegal.

[blubart]

yes, in Seattle it's absolutely illegal to download stuff, if you can hijack a wifi connection outside the city limit it's a completely other matter though...


kidding aside: by applying some basic logic and the knowledge that everything created is protected by some kind of copyright - even if it is not specifically licensed in your country - you should come to the conclusion that it is not legal to download something without the creators permission.

on the other hand Doujinshi are most of the time already infringing a copyright of the original creator of the character - in the end it's all a matter of whether or not the copyright holder cares to enforce his right.

[WallCroft]

Alright then thank you for the replies. Wish I can get back to my home country where it's not even illegal at all to download these stuffs...

[relic2279]

Alright then thank you for the replies. Wish I can get back to my home country where it's not even illegal at all to download these stuffs...

What country do you live in? Chances are it's illegal under international law, just not as enforced.

[WallCroft]

My home country is in Vietnam and most if not all of the stuffs like movies, video games etc. are already cracked. But the many people live on it so the government don't even care. The governemnt would only interfere if it's illegal drugs, cocaine or porn CDs or DVDs being smuggled into the country. But businesses selling cracked CD or DVDs or even video games are just fine. Except for PS3 games because the Blu-ray discs are too large to make copies of.

[relic2279]

My home country is in Vietnam

It's illegal in Vietnam as well. They signed the Berne and TRIPS Treaty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_parties_to_international_copyright_agreements

[WallCroft]

Sure sure they did signed it but you have to live there to know why they hardly have the ability to enforce it. If they do enforce it, the economy will be seriously crippled and many other unmentionable factors. People would consider you to be a fool if you live in Vietnam and buy legit stuffs. I do buy legit stuffs (mostly video games and a bit of anime) but in Vietnam even if they did signed that piece of paper, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

EDIT: If they do enforce it, more than half of the country's population will be arrested. It would be really "fun" to watch too.

[relic2279]

Sure sure they did signed it but you have to live there to know why they hardly have the ability to enforce it.

Yeah I know. That's why I said it isn't enforced but is still technically 'illegal'.

[WallCroft]

lol ok. I miss my home country so much. Can't do any downloads or seeding in the US...

[AceD]

lol...just do it, the FBI ain't going to come get you.

[vuzedome]

Paranoia?
Think about it first, its not 100% safe, and it ain't a 100% guarantee that you're gonna get sued.