Is downloading TV series (il)legal?
Today I came to think about something I want all pirates of the Internet and the anti-piracy nutters to answer and discuss.
Let us say I have VCR or any kind of personal video recorder and I want to record the latest Dexter episode on TV; so I can watch it the day after as I will be busy during the time it is aired on TV and I really do not feel like waiting for the rerun.
Unfortunately the video recorder fails and my recording fails. Now I have to wait for the rerun and possible spoilers online.
If my intention were to record it to watch it later and I have a paid subscription to the channel that airs Dexter; can I then legally download the episode from Demonoid or TPB?
In theory I should as I already had intended to make a recording of it.
According to the law in most countries I will be unlawfully accessing the material as not intended, so I am not allowed to download it.
What is your opinion?
It’s illegal to make a copy with your VCR in the first place :(
Is it still illegal in some countries to make a recording from TV? The laws are really far behind in regards to technology.
I don’t think it’s illegal to record tv with a VCR, or today’s version of a VCR, which is a TIVO or any other DVR. As long as you don’t profit from whatever it is you’re recording, I don’t think it matters.
I also don’t think downloading the latest episode of insert_name_here via torrent or rapidshare or any other sharing medium should be illegal. But with the arrival of services like Hulu and $1.99 episodes on iTunes, I can see why it is. Whatever the case, I’m still gonna continue downloading ’cause I can’t always catch the latest episode when it airs. If I really like something, I buy it anyway when it comes out. Have a nice day!