Is P2P file sharing legal or illegal?
This is a tricky question. Peer-to-peer technology is legal. The technology simply enables a person to download files and share with others during the download process. Some people use P2P to illegally download music, movies, and software without permission. For example, Metallica’s new album is copyrighted and fans who want to own the album must pay for it. Downloading the album without paying (i.e. without permission) constitutes copyright infringement, which is illegal. Some people use P2P to legally download music, movies, and software. For example, the popular online game World of Warcraft distributes software updates using P2P. Nine Inch Nails released Ghosts I-IV through the Creative Commons license and distributed a portion of it using P2P. The bottom line is that it’s legal to use P2P so long as you have permission to download the files you’re downloading. If you’re downloading music, movies, software, or other copyrighted material without permission, it’s illegal.