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The Legalities of Streaming

I watch a lot of films, tv series & sports using online streams, some films before they are out at the cinema. I am aware downloading stuff is illegal but what about streaming?

Comments

  • At this time, no it isn't.

    "Currently, under EU law, it is not illegal to hold copies of copyright-infringing content if it is held temporarily. The argument is that streaming is a form of temporary possession."

    There is apparently ongoing challenges in the Courts at present by various parties though.
  • It's perfectly legal. The reason given for it being illegal is that you were creating copies on your hard drive in your temporary files. However temporary files are necessary for the Computer to access the Internet and to work, so the eu decided that temporary files don't count, so you are not in possession of any illegal copies of movies etc. Hosting streams and downloading films via bit torrent etc is illegal.
  • Cheers Kent & Dr
  • Cheers Kent & Dr

    Of course the moralistically decent among us still think you're just a thieving leech ;-)
  • This is why Kodi has become so popular.
  • buckshee said:

    This is why Kodi has become so popular.

    Trouble with things like Kodi is, as KentAddick explains above, currently streaming isn't illegal because the files created when watching are part of a natural process by a computer and therefore not illegal. Systems like Kodi are specifically designed for enabling streaming and are not a natural computer process. Argument is that that this type of streaming is not temporary and is what is apparently being argued through the European courts at the moment. Can't really see what they can do about it though other than making Kodi stuff illegal in itself.
  • DRAddick said:

    buckshee said:

    This is why Kodi has become so popular.

    Trouble with things like Kodi is, as KentAddick explains above, currently streaming isn't illegal because the files created when watching are part of a natural process by a computer and therefore not illegal. Systems like Kodi are specifically designed for enabling streaming and are not a natural computer process. Argument is that that this type of streaming is not temporary and is what is apparently being argued through the European courts at the moment. Can't really see what they can do about it though other than making Kodi stuff illegal in itself.
    It's temporary if cache is cleared though?
  • edited March 2016
    Mackle said:

    DRAddick said:

    buckshee said:

    This is why Kodi has become so popular.

    Trouble with things like Kodi is, as KentAddick explains above, currently streaming isn't illegal because the files created when watching are part of a natural process by a computer and therefore not illegal. Systems like Kodi are specifically designed for enabling streaming and are not a natural computer process. Argument is that that this type of streaming is not temporary and is what is apparently being argued through the European courts at the moment. Can't really see what they can do about it though other than making Kodi stuff illegal in itself.
    It's temporary if cache is cleared though?
    I think they're arguing that as kodi is a specifically designed app for streaming that you choose to install then that is what makes it a permanent not temporary possession. It's a specific permanent application not a temporary file created naturally by a computer (which is what the current legal status is based on). The streaming itself is still temporary possession but the method of doing it is what makes it permanent and therefore illegal. Permanent doesn't necessarily equate to keeping something for a specific length of time.
    I'm only going by what I've been reading recently. I don't have any actual knowledge or expertise.
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  • I'm pretty sure in the States viewing of copyright materials without permission is considered illegal.
  • DRAddick said:

    buckshee said:

    This is why Kodi has become so popular.

    Trouble with things like Kodi is, as KentAddick explains above, currently streaming isn't illegal because the files created when watching are part of a natural process by a computer and therefore not illegal. Systems like Kodi are specifically designed for enabling streaming and are not a natural computer process. Argument is that that this type of streaming is not temporary and is what is apparently being argued through the European courts at the moment. Can't really see what they can do about it though other than making Kodi stuff illegal in itself.
    Except the process that kodi uses is the exactly the same process as streaming on a computer, just uses different operating system. Still perfectly fine.
  • Five men who illegally streamed Premier League football matches to tens of thousands of people have been jailed.

    The gang sold cut-price £10-a-month subscriptions, bragging they made money showing games not otherwise available to watch live in the UK because of "blackout" broadcasting rules. Their operation, described as the biggest so far, received more than £7m from 50,000 subscribers.

    The fraud prosecution was brought to protect "some of the world's most valuable content", the league's lawyers said. It followed a lengthy trading-standards investigation led by Hammersmith and Fulham Council. And the personal details of many of those who paid for Flawless TV are now in the hands of investigators, raising the question of what action might be taken against them.

    At Derby Crown Court, the gang's "prime mover", Mark Gould, 36, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Four other members were sentenced to between three and more than five years. 

    Trading-standards investigator Doug Love led a raid on Gould's smart riverside flat in Greenwich, south London. "I don't think any of us realised how big it was," Mr Love tells BBC News. "When we went into the spare bedroom, there were 20 or 30 set-top boxes linked together."

    The gang took feeds from broadcasters in the UK, Qatar, the US, Australia and Canada and streamed them a few seconds later via the Flawless service. The operation developed apps offering Premier League matches and other content, which ran on phones and smart TVs. The gang made £7.2m between 2016 and 2021, according to the league. Gould personally made more than £1.7m. 

  • 11 years in prison is pretty mad though, you'd get less than that for far worse offences.
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