Downloading movies with Bit torrent [closed]

Question

I come from a part of the world where the average Hollywood movie is released a year + later
than in US.

For example:
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen will be released only 5-6 months down the lane. The Reader, I think will not be released at all.

Is this a right justification for me to download movies from the torrent networks and watch them?
Even if I don’t share it?

P.S I don’t think my country has all these American type cyber laws to catch me. It’s just the guilt feeling.

Note: SuperUser is not a legal resource.

Answer 1

No, that is not a valid justification. Just because you are not in the country of origin doesn't mean it isn't illegal. You are going to have to find alternative ways, like buying them online when they are released in the US.

Another factor: You cannot just download a torrent most of the time. You technically will "share" the file as you download it. So you would be contributing to the distribution of copyrighted material as well in many cases.

Answer 2

When using torrents or any other p2p (peer to peer) technology you always share -- by definition of p2p.

A justification is right as long as you like it. But unauthorized distribution of copyrighted materials is illegal virtually everywhere. Study laws of your country for more details.

Answer 3

I believe there are international laws that protect the copyrights on these things. So yes, it's still illegal.

Consider buying the movies online and having them shipped to you, or use an online method, such as iTunes.

Answer 4

There's no way a country completely lacks copyright laws. The fact that they are not enforced in any way does not mean you're not supposed to abide by them. We have strict copyright laws in Romania, yet no one respects them; yet, they still exist.

Even if movies are released a year later, that does not diminish their value. Why is it so hard to wait for them? I go to the cinema when I really want to see a movie and I wait for them to be released on TV if I'm not that willing to pay.

And, as Bender said, bittorrent is p2p, which means you give back to others, thus distributing copyrighted materials. This is how bittorrent works.

Answer 5

Interestingly, Valve commented how at certain countries, the piracy rate is high because publishers decided to release games much later than the US release, at higher cost. When steam provided the games to those countries at the same time, at a reasonable price point, they claim the piracy rate drops.

This doesn't answer the question of in regards to guilt, but I think analogies can be drawn between the two.

Answer 6

It may very well be perfectly legal to download movies via torrents if you do not also share them. Switzerland for example has a law like this: downloading alone is legal as long as you do not also share any parts of the torrent.

But it seems that you are not that much interested in the legal issue but in the ethical question. There we can of course not just give you an answer to your question.

Some might think it is morally justifiable to download movies over the internet without paying them. Some think it equals stealing and condemn every form of 'piracy'. Some just don't care.

Answer 7

Check to see if you can get a non-region locked DVD online. If your only choice is a region locked US copy then you probably don't have much of a choice but to download it. As far as whether it is morally justifiable that is your call, even if it is legal some people would still say it is wrong. If you personally don't have any moral objection to stealing and it is not legally considered stealing in your country, then go for it. If it is considered illegal than we are not the ones you need justification to download it from.