Leaving my home country I need a heads up :)

[toru310]

HI, I'll be leaving my home country because I'll be taking part in a internship program in Florida. My country(Asia side) is a torrent downloading free country(LOL) so downloading at home is safe. Now I heard that in the US torrent downloading is illegal and you can even get black listed and can even sue you.

So my question is am I not allowed to download torrent fansubs if so..not fair I don't really mind not downloading games but not being able to download anime is like..ouch!


I hope someone can answer my question thank you

[Yuno]

A lot of American fans do so anyway. I am currently looking at my Utorrent download of Fate Stay Night Movie and the vast majourity of peers are American. Those restrictions are put into place, but that doesn't stop internet patrons. There is also a thread available on the topic here: http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?t=97859

[toru310]

Thanks for the heads up

[thevil1]

I never knew that torrenting in Asia is legal... But yes, in the states torrents fall under the category of illegal downloads most of the time.

[mindovermatter]

for movies and music, it's smarter to use a proxy program like Tor when torrenting because occationally the Motion Picture Association of America (usually referred to as MPAA) will decide to make an example of someone and sue the heck out of them for downloading. I have yet to hear of someone who was sued for downloading anime (but you might be treading on thin ice if you download one that is already licensed in USA).
if during your internship you'll be living at a university, you'll want to be extra careful. Most Unis do keep track of in and out traffic on their networks

Spoiler for E-mail my Uni sent around:

In August 2008, the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) was signed into law. Several of the Act’s provisions are intended to reduce unauthorized duplication of copyrighted works through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing on campus networks. The University is providing you this notice in compliance with that legislation. You are STRONGLY ADVISED to read this notice thoroughly and give it careful consideration.

Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file-sharing applications, such as Limewire, KaZaA, EasyMule, BitTorrent, etc., enable users to share music, movies and other digital files with computers all over the world. While P2P software has many legal uses, more often than not, it is used for unauthorized sharing and downloading of copyrighted materials. Using file-sharing software that downloads or uploads substantial parts of copyrighted work (e.g. music, videos, software, games, etc) without the permission of the copyright holder is a violation of our Appropriate Use Policy and constitutes an infringement. Civil and criminal penalties for anyone found liable for copyright infringement include the following:


* Actual damages or "statutory" damages affixed at not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per work infringed.
* Up to $150,000 per work infringed for “willful” infringement in addition to potential costs and attorneys' fees
* Imprisonment of up to five years and fines of up to $250,000 per offense should the court rule for criminal penalties


The University routinely receives copyright infringement notices from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other copyright holders. Each notice is recorded and processed – to include a forward of the notice to the identified account with copies to the VP for Information Technology and the VP for Student Affairs. The two best ways to ensure compliance with Clark policy and the law are:


* Do not install P2P file-sharing software on your computer - By default, P2P applications will search for and share content on your computer with others. P2P applications usually run as soon as you turn on your computer and continue to run in the background. Even if you disable uploading, copyrighted content in a “shared” folder can be seen by others using the same P2P network and many P2P programs may reset preferences to resume uploading. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and other content owners use the same P2P software that file sharers do! Their intent is to catch file sharers sharing their protected content with others. If you’re running a P2P program, chances are that the RIAA is running the same software. In fact, the person downloading a song from you may be working for the RIAA and may be compiling evidence against you. It has happened to thousands of P2P users, and it can happen to you.
* Do not use the University network for illegal file sharing - Content owners such as the recording industry, movie studios and gaming companies, specifically target illegal file sharing on university networks.

For me it hasn't been a huge problem since I have don't have too much time anymore to watch anime and movies, and when I do I usually stream it...
If I really want something torrented I'll have an off campus friend do it for me.
If you insist on torrenting on a school network, if you set up a SSH tunnel (don't ask me how to do it, I just know it works) I've heard it's pretty hard to get caught.