Is It Illegal To Download Torrents?

A lot of people think downloading torrents is illegal. It isn't. A torrent is just a file type which can contain many things, including creative commons music, film and open-source software. What *is* illegal, is downloading something which is copyright protected -- which includes most movies, software and forms of music.

That said, Copyright Laws for film/music piracy are a bit confusing, which is probably why so many people do it. I myself was rather ignorant of the specific laws until a few days ago when I saw some legislation, and I realized they are actually quite severe in some cases. Severe enough that, I can't see the point in risking prison if some legal entity wants to make an example of you.

Many people think it's not illegal to download, but rather only to upload. What many do not realize, is that sharing (seeding) is a form of uploading. Most people who download torrents will seed them for a time to improve their download speeds. These people presume this is not uploading, so many people are actually uploading without realizing it. The good news is, there is plenty of free stuff out there you can legally download. It might not be everything on your Christmas list, but hey, it's free. Here's a list of a few places you can download from, without worrying that you're breaking some kind of law.

www.legittorrents.info

This is a web forum type site that lists lots of free movie torrents. It also lists quite a bit of open source software and royalty-free music downloads. You're bound to find something interesting if you take a look. There are many classic films available now that their copyright has run out, and you can download these without worrying you're breaking some kind of law.

www.publicdomaintorrents.com

This is another one for movies. Yes, lots of them are B&W and perhaps some you would not be interested in watching if you're younger than, say, 70. But they are free, so no complaining!

www.legaltorrents.com

Again, similar to those above, but this one is being fancied up at the moment, so it's currently down. It will be back up end of Feb 2008, so check it then and see what goodies you can find.

www.jamendo.com

This is a website with loads of creative commons music files for download. It's provided by the artists, and no one is violating anyone's rights or any laws by downloading the music you find there.

www.linuxtracker.org

Linux tracker is a great site for people who run the Linux OS on their computers. Lots of software goodies available through this site currently celebrating it's 3rd anniversary.