Is Limewire illegal?

I am so sorry for downloading stuff that i should not off. After I read this I deleted Limewire (i have only had it for 3 days) and all the stuff I downloaded with it.

If limewire is legal why do they have a section for program's (comeone that just encouraging people) . There is hardly any moderation . The filters don't work . Theres easy access to pornographical content . Lot's of viruses . Why don't they just filter maccramedia /adobe/microsoft/nero/anyother software distrubeters programS ?

ookay, sorry to say this but, I am really kind of mixed up.
Is limewire ok or not?
ehehe, feel free to call me stupid ^__^' i'm slow.

Kitty, sorry for the confusion. Limewire itself isn't illegal, but the content that you download is quite likely to be illegal and your possession of that illegal content also breaks the law, according to the MPAA and RIAA. Hope that clarifies things a bit.

Hey Dave,
I understand what you're saying. But I still do have one question that i hope you can answer. My question is:
Are "the people"(i dont know who) tracking down people who download illegal music?

i tried 3 times to purchase limewire with my credit card. and cant get on.now i will probably get tripple billed......I need a phone number at limewire that i can talk to pesonaly

please send me a phone number via e mail for support at limewire

So is limewire legal or illegal???????
2007

Now, I understand that Limewire Basic could be used for illegal downloads and such, because they haven't been paid for. But my question is this: If someone shells out the money and gets the Pro version, aren't any downloads legal, because they have purchased the program, or are the downloads still illegal?

From some of the comments I see people still don't understand how LimeWire works. You are not getting any material from LimeWire. They do not monitor downloads. The paid version just gives you more options and a faster download speed. All material downloaded is peer to peer with LimeWire just acting as the vehicle to move the data.

Limewire is illegal period. The BS answer "dave" gave you is a load of crap!! If any website/downloaded program allows you to get copywritten intellectual property it is illegal. I am a FAN of recorded music of 24 years and i have seen what downloading has done to the industry.

It is the reason we have crappy music now. Some say that if you are a true artist then money shouldn't matter... imagine giving pro athletes a huge paycut, do you think they would all stick around and play as well? Hell no!!!

They would continue to play because it was their passion but they would have to take a normal job to pay the bills. It's a sad fact but you get what you pay for. Making money in the music biz lured talented people into giving the "big time" a shot thus creating an American music culture of talented people... Now no talented person in his/her right mind would put their music out there only to have it stolen.

Illegal downloading is killing the culture of music. period.

hi, is it illegal to download porno on limewire?

I'm being pestered to buy an MP3 for my kids. What type do i need and where's the best place for downloading?

Thanks for your note, Barkley. You're right, it's not LIMEWIRE that's illegal in any way, it's the data that you can download using the Limewire program (and any other peer to peer / p2p application) from other sources. Not all of it, but a distressing percentage of what's available on the p2p networks is clearly illegal and unlicensed.

Oh, and Limewire Pro doesn't change the situation because the money you pay to upgrade the program doesn't get distributed to the music companies, movies studios, publishers, etc etc etc.

Oh my god, I always wondered if LimeWire was illegal. I should delete it right now.
I'm also going to delete any songs I downloaded and take them off my MP3 player and destroy my discs.

I feel sooo bad.

i know its not legal but what are the chances of getting caught and being arrested? PLEASE i need to know. almost everyone at my school uses it and i dont think anyones been caught.

If you do use limewire and get movies and songs and put 'em on your iPod could you be like arrested or fined or something? If so what are really the chances of being caught? ((just wondering))

I ordered limewire thinking it was a fun and safe. All that happened was I was ripped off. I have learned of lots of negative feedback. There are no telephone numbers left for help or to speak to someone live. So please tell me why? Please get back to me in a hurry!

hello guys, could somebody please explain this to me, when limewire is peer to peer is that means the person who can upload the song from my pc can also upload other informations from my pc u know i mean anyother files that belongs to me.thanks

please please help me!!! Ive just litterally downloaded the free one (just so i could make some ashley tisdale videos) and i downloaded one song, and in the search engine i searched for licenced ones, so did i break the law??? i dont want to get into trouble by my mum! all i want to do is make some cool videos! is that illigal???? please help me! xxx

limewire is illegal i think?!?

Whatever I own, I should be able to share. Since when was sharing illegal? I think music should be all about the live performance. Thats why I pay top-dollar for concerts and share music from the privacy of my own home with people sharing musix from the privacy of theirs. Record companies have been ripping off musicians for decades. . . I think its poetic justice that we are able to share with anyone on the globe. Fight the Greedies!

Wow. Why all the confusion? If you don't pay for it, you stole it. I, too didn't realize this until we actually thought about this and have deleted Limewire. I also thought it was just "sharing" but it's not me giving a copy of my purchased cd to my friend to enjoy for a month. Not the same at all. So I too, appologize for being niave about this.
Final note:If you feel the need to download porn, you have a problem. Get help and turn off the computer. This is a very addictive thing to start getting into. Not to mention, perverse. Sorry, you brought it up.

so can you get sued or arrested for downloadind stuff?

look, if limewire was illegal, they would only allow the programs that are free, freeware, they would not allow music downloads. and if you open the music you download in a program that you have purchased, like windows media player, or musicmatch jukebox, those programs give ur music a license to and a copyright . so therefore, it is legal to keep ur music that u have downloaded. just don't tell them u downloaded it!!!!

P.S.: just as long as you use it in a different program, and not limewire itself, they cannot say that u downloaded it, u could show them it in like windoms media, with a licence, that u bought it and put it on ur computer from a friends cd, or mp3 player and they could not say anything.oh, and if its already on ur i pod, psp, mp3 player, etc... they cannot make u take it off. u could say u got it from a friend, and then just delete the music you downloaded.

i dont limewire is illegal. correct me if im wrong, but i havent seen too many (music)artists sue limewire.if they havent done that, they must not have a problem with limewire giving out music. also, if it was illegal it wouldnt be on the internet, right?but thats just my opinion.sorry if im wrong. :)

Limewire is not illegal. If it is then that makes Windows or Linux illegal since it allows copying and storing of copyrighted materials.

C'mon, guys. I never said that Limewire is illegal. I said that it enables you to download illegal content. Big, big difference!

Limewire isn't illegal, period. they do sell legal media, they just allow others to illegally upload and distribute. plus stop being a baby, you downloaded an illegal song and cost the music industry a pretty $1. consider how much the music industry gets in revinue each year.

please help me is there a pretty good chance to get caught downloading songs or anything from limewire and what are the consiquences please help me

just because the music industry makes a ton of money doesn't make it ok to steal from them! the robin hood theory seems noble but is wrong, stealing from the rich is not ok just cuz they're rich. im sure there is someone poorer than you, but u wudn't want them to steal from you!!

I am very confused about this. When is it legal to download free music? One minute someone is saying that it is legal, then the next someone is saying that it's illegal. How do you know if the song has a license? free downloading is not the only reason why record sales are greatly decreasing. Look at the Ipod. That has something to do with it. And, music is garbage now. Is it illegal to download old songs that are not sold in stores anymore? How do these people get these songs?

So pretty much, downloading Limewire itself isnt illegal. But, if you actually want to use it and download songs or videos or whatever, then it becomes illegal because you arnt paying for them and the artist isnt getting the money.

Correct?

I have a question? After I download a song on Limewire, How do I make it go to my Windows media player?? Thanks so much, Nancy

Only one guy has ever been arrested for uploading music and i dont think anyone has ever even be punished for copyright infringement via downloading off limewire etc. and i think all that stuff i read about the music industry being crippled by downloading is bull, they can make billions more from further exposure on the internet that gets balanced out again by downloaders. the industry is as profitable as it ever was. long live limewire!

The music industry is losing revenue each year because of online ILLEGAL downloading. My friend just lost his job in the industry because of cutting costs. They cut costs because they are losing money, which comes from illegal downloading. Here's another fun fact- 9/10 recording artists out on major record labels are not living the grand lifestyle and making millions of dollars a year like you think. They make as much as you or I or your parents. Think if you were stealing from your parents...

Now to clarify legality issues.

Limewire the program is legal,

what it allows us to do is illegal. ie-download copyrighted music and videos.

What I suggest is that you shell out about 5 bucks a month for Napster (60 dollars a year), which allows you to download as much music as you want for a cheap price (much cheaper than iTunes), and also allows you to put it on your mp3 players.

Tada- problem solved, and solved legally.

THIS IS ALL TOO CONFUSING! I get that limewire is not illeagal but the program lets you download illeagal songs. I have i very old version of limewire and after reading this I deleted Limewire, and took away all songs I downloaded.(When I downloaded limewire, it never said you had to agree not to download any songs) OMG why do they make these programs if everyone will alyays download free music. Just use Itunes. It safe, Leagal and sometimes they let you download free things.

I have been paying for CDs for all of my 35+ years, and they have always been around $20/cd. If I buy a CD it's usually a few good songs, then the rest is crap. As the american consumer knows, we have been getting ripped off for dedades. The record companies know this but they are operating their business off of the 'greed' model. The "rock stars" with their eccentricities and ridiculous paychecks are the ones that need to take a pay-cut. And NO, rock stars will not stop making music. There will always be some talented artist willing to take their places. Does Jessica Simpson really deserve millions for her talent, while Amy Winehouse is relatively unknown?

LimeWire isn't legal. But too many people use it for anybody to do anything about it. It was just the same with Kazaa.

"Illegal downloading is killing the culture of music. period.
Posted by: matthias at February 23, 2007 5:06 AM"

In response to this egg head: If you've been around for 24 years then you might have heard of the recordable tape, video tape, and CD-R. If I remember correctly when the tape came onto the scene the same was said for music and the industry. Fortunately for the Record Companies, there was still enough fresh talent and ideas sprouting to keep them aloft, unfortunately for today it seems that no one is hell bent on being progressive in the mainstream because that's not what sells. What sells is repetition and that's what they put out.

If you take a look at the growing underground scene you can see that there is a ton of talent and it's barely being discovered thanks to p2p programs. Indie music, underground hip hop, all of it is breaking mainstream partly because more people can "listen in" on upcoming artists. If only record companies weren't so greedy, they would see a viable opportunity for free promotion by using the internet. It's unfortunate that they just see everyone as pirates, and have the same stupid ideology that you carry.
idiot.

-rod

Dave is it ok to download songs off limewire into your own computers or mp3 but not sell it to any one or share it waith any one

Two questions:

How do you know which songs are illegal and which ones aren't?

&

Will Limewire cause my computer to crash?

there are files on limewire that if you download them they will crash your computer try to avoid downloads that are in their millions and over i know cause i had this exact problem and had viruses out the ass

will i get fined if i download movies

Ok, my questions answered. (except how to justify downloading songs from Limewire)

Question for :pat at April 22, 2007 4:25 PM, with regards to napster.

Where did you get " 5 Bucks a month"? (2 and-a-half quid, here in Old Blighty).

I downloaded the software with the options of:

£9 or £14 per month. (About $18 or $27 per month)

Two questions

How do u tell legal songs from illegal?

can songs from limewire really crash your computer, and if so, which ones?

download avast antivirus and if u get a virus off limewire it will stop it before it comes in!

Ok. to clarify and sum up, limewire isn't illegal. But, many (or most) of the files downloaded off of limewire are illegal. also, don't download it, it screws up your computer!

I think it's pretty stupid not being able to download music , If you pay for the internet then you should be-able to do anything you want with it.Everything thats on the internet should not be ilegal to download.About a couple months ago.. I downloaded a music sharing program ( morphius ) then limewire...I downloaded maybe 100 sounds or less , not sure..then 3 days later Charter Communications called our house and warned us about downloading music.They said that was just a warning , next time we would pay.So that just tells you that downloading music is pretty risky.

I down loaded lime wire whitch was to be free. I( ended up paying $34.00. I'm stuck on how to move the songs i selected to my pc. There is no number or support site to help me. Can you help?

Here's the thing, I don't have LimeWire, i deleted it, it was useless, never used it, I always used iTunes Music Store, its more fun, and look if LimeWire is illegal, the the government should close LimeWire and all P2P clients out there, it would do better to society and a society will be more legal.

Everyone knows Limewire is illegal and many people still use it. It is like people using drugs. They know it is illegal but they use it anyways.

if limewire is illegal then why isn't the program or the website taken down???????

Bob, go re-read what I wrote. Limewire isn't illegal, per se, but the majority of its use and utility to the online world is for downloading illegal, unauthorized copies of software, music, videos, etc. The Feds can't make Limewire illegal, however, because there's also legit, public domain and open source material available. Nonetheless, if you use Limewire to download illegal material you are indeed breaking the law...

Just FYI there is a iTunes program that I added to my iTunes called iLike. Basically when you are buying a song from the Apple web site, or are playing a song via iTunes it pops up similar songs that are of the free garage band type groups that are not copyrighted. So if you like a group, say The Rolling Stones it will find groups that sound like them, but the groups are a bunch of musicians that have not copyrighted their songs, aren't ex[ecting to get paid and just enjoy sharing their talents with others.

has any individual been sued for using limewire yet...and do you believe it will happen soon in the future?

Seriously people! Limewire isn't illegal to have its just software. Its only illegal if you download copyrighted items. Think of it like a knife. It isn't illegal to have the knife, it is illegal to stab someone with it. Now on to my opinion of the subject matter. Why do people feel bad for ripping of millionaires? These people get free stuff "swag" everytime they turn around. I wouldn't feel the least bit bad. Besides most of them use it for drugs and what not and end up with nothing anyway...have you seen VH1?

i no the discussion is about the legallity of limewire but this is the only site i can find that doesnt charge to make a comment. i have had limewire years and love it but recently i have been watching the incoming searches screen and have noticed a disgusting amount of child porn searches all with the name r@ygold afterwards has anyone else seen this because maybe we can do something about it.

So, are all the files illegal ones, or what? I don't understand. Wouldn't they all have to be illegal? How would you use Limewire "legally"? Also, I heard a girl in Tiltonsville, Ohio got sued for 2,500?

Ever heard of the radio as long as the record companies are broadcasting music into my life for FREE across the airwaves how can they possibly complain about people recording that music or sharing it with others. Take a lesson from The Counting Crows who not only encourage sharing of their music they go out of their way to help people by letting them plug in recording devices right into the sound board at their concerts and then putting a how to get it for free right on their website. This has created a die hard following of fans who gladly pay $50 - $60 for a ticket to see one of their shows and has put a huge cut into the record companies who like to make as much money from a band as possible. Lesson to be leared giving your music away for free will let the public decide who is good and reward them by paying for tickets to see the good people play.

Want even more proof look up and watch an old MTV episode about the band TLC and how they went bankrupt while selling platinum albums, the record industry is set up to rape artists not reward them. Live shows is where the money is really at for a band, and free music is the best advertising that they can get for this.

Limewire is legal unless you sell copywrighted info without permission. SO IT'S NOT ILLEGAL. IT EVEN SAYS IT ON THE WEBSITE!

Jo, you're wrong. It's not about whether things are for sale or not, it's whether your use of them violates copyright or not. Finally, it's not like Limewire's going to explain all this on its site, is it? :-)

It's the record companies who are ripping *us*, the listeners, off. I'd gladly buy music if a) it was priced more reasonably (who can afford to pay $15 a CD?) and b) I knew that money was going to the artists.

The idea that this is stifling innovation is ridiculous. Maybe in the short term it will, but in the long term artists will adapt. Old methods for making profit from media are no longer working. Let's see some of that innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, instead of this whining. Welcome to the digital millennium, people.

letme give an example..... its like taking candy from a baby wich is stealing!! if the kid agrees in giving it to you its totally ok.....

see limewire is technically legal.... as a program
its legal in wich you could share something that is not copyright wich could be something like a home video or a song of your band it just cant be copyright

on the other the only thing that is illegal are the users who are abusing it by sharing the music that is in copyright....

if the britney spears (her lawyers or producers) decide to give permision to limewire for file sharing it is 100% legal ..... see no artist would do that because its just like working free .............
would you like to work in store and 75% percent of those people who are there are stealing all your merchandise that you bought to sell....
same as an artist..... file sharing COPYRIGHT music is ILLEGAL

Thanks for clearing it up!
Right after i read this i deleted Limewire.
I still dont get why Limewire is legal, but it lets you download illegal music.
The government should shut it down.

if limewire is illegal, wouldnt the government have taken it off???

I bought a pile of 33 lp's in the past if i download for example Elvis song is it illegal since i paid the right to own the song 15 years ago or i have to pay a second time because the format changed and maybe a 3rd time if they change for a new format.

I heard that you can download Limewire Pro off Limewire basic..
it's kind of ironic

In short limewire itself is not illegal dispite what some people have said in this thread it is in fact LEGAL althought people use it to obtain illegal content but im sure thats mostly whats on there i have played with the interface and the limewire program will alert you if the content you are about to download is not licensed which most of the time these unlicensed files ar illegal depending on the content do not fear the use or possession of the program only the content that you download

So, if I buy a CD, and let my friend borrow my CD that I purchased (by physically handing it to him), that's illegal sharing? Likewise, if I buy a book, and let a friend borrow it when I'm done, that's illegal sharing, too???

What about when I was a kid, and I'd tape the "Top 40" songs off the radio-am I guilty of copyright infringement? Please! Get a grip! If not for music downloads, some of these so called artists would never even be heard of!

i personally think more artists should be like weird al yankovic. you see, he doesn't care if his music is downloaded at all.
hmm...

WOW, does my head hurt after reading all this.
I manage a musician, FIVE TIMES AUGUST. For those who think downloading music for free is ok, and it's just ripping off millionaires who use $$ for drugs, or ripping of record companies, boy are you WAYYY wrong. This is coming DIRECTLY from someone this effects on a daily basis.

Brad (Five Times August is all one guy)'s song "Better With You has been downloaded ILLEGALLY (Brad owns the copywright) over a million times on limewire. It's been purchsed legally on itunes.com 45,000 times. That's means less than 10% of people have purchased it legally. Would YOU work for less than 10% of your income?

Brad has made a decision to remain unsigned. He's been offered deals by 4 major labels in the last year, but isn't comfortable giving up the rights to his music (when you sign to a label, the label then owns the recordings, not the artsit.) We are a small team, just Brad and myself. Brad has a new record ready to be released, but no money to release it, because 90% of the people who know about him stle his music!!

Bottom line, this is the music BUSINESS. As with any business, if your product doesn't sell, you go out of business, period.

Kelly Vandergriff
FTA Management
www.fivetimesaugust.com

Sorry for all the typos...I was typing fast because some people's outlook on this is so frustrating!

Kelly Vandergriff
FTA Management
www.fivetimesaugust.com

Hello know i know everything about limewire well ....... the fact this girl got fined £10000 for downloading of limewire and other p2p programs she had about 2 - 3 p2p programs INCLUDING LIMEWIRE and was fined for illegal downloading

It is very confusing-it seems limewire has 'tricked' a lot of people. If it allows illegal activity, it should be altered to be used such as the other legal ways to download music-it is legal for the company to have the site running, but unethical since they know (and now we know...) that the users are doing something illegal. Some understand that (users), but it appears most of us were unaware

woah, i just read all these comments!. im conviced now that downloading music from limewire is illegal!

can i just say this, to people who think musicians just use their income to by drugs and get wasted - that aint true for all great musicians! think about it - Hillsong Church - you can download their songs on Limewire, probably most the money they earn goes toward - helping 3rd world developing countries, churches, their churches and instruments to worship more. - So druggies or no druggies - musicians deserve to recieve money for people listening to their music!

also i feel really bad about using limewire - i have been using it for over a year now - i have some really great music on my iPod too and it's going to be really hard deleting them all! -

....do i have to delete my previous downloads, or can i just never use limewire again??????? lol!

and wat can i do to help others to relize limewire downloading is illegal

i think that lime wire is legal, even if you do download musiccccc .... DOWNLOAD MORE MUSICCCC
YEHHHH

I'm going to post a blog on this myself, because as Tamara said, it might help to spread the news. I didn't read all of the comments (the first half I did) but here is a simple explanation on the laws and legal use of limewire.

1. Limewire is legal, fun, and COULD be safe (if not for viruses).

2. Downloading files from limewire such as music that you created, produced, and paid for yourself is fine. You can even allow others to download it. If a band, such as Hillsong, wanted to allow people to download their songs for free, thy could even use limewire to do so. It would not be illegal. Or, if I want to be able to share my report on ethics in Christianity with my friends, I can put it on limewire for them (and others) to download legally.

2. You do NOT own a song just because you bought the CD it is on. You have the right to listen to the song, but not distribute it. Other companies (like radios stations) have the right to boadcast the song, but they cannot sell it. And stores have the right to sell the song, but not necessarily broadcast it in their stores for everyone to listen. For the radio stations and stores, they must pay royalties to the actual owners of the songs so that they can continue playing the songs. Otherwise, it is illegal.

It is even illegal to play, sing, or do something with a song written by someone else in a concert or in like a church if you are not paying royalties for the act. Yes, though it is rare, Christian Musicians can come and sue a church if they play a song in their church during worship without having a license to do so.

There you have it...another answer from anotherguy

i just think your all nutts of course downloading songs without paying is illegal. your not paying for them, its like going into a store and pinching a bunch of cd's
MY GOD!!

ok first of all downoading on a peer to peer software such as limewire is not illegal, in general downloading of the internet is not illegal. most peer to peer programs make you upload your own music by either doing it behind you back or asking you the same question differently many times. the peer to peer softwares arnt illegal so the are not shutdown the illegal part of peer to peer on the internet is the uploading of files through kazaa, limewire ect.

can u get fined for downloading music off of limewire yes or no?

To put it simply, Limewire is not illegal to use or distribute. Using Limewire to download copyrighted material, however, is. Yes, you can be prosecuted, if convicted of using ANY p2p for copyright infringement purposes. The idea that keeps p2p sofware legal is that it was created as a means to distribute and transfer original and non-copyrighted material over the Internet.

I used to use limewire but then i deleted it after all these new issues came up about it.

So is it ok or not to use limewire?
How would i know what is right and not right to download?

Are "the people" tracking down people who download illegal music?

ok, let me get this straight. Its illegal to download music from limewire because its not yours and u cant contribute it.
Then explain a cd burner? what does that do? it allows us to make copies of cds i have. I buy a cd, burn a copy, i have another copy instead of buying another one, so y arent cd burners illegal? Whats the point of a cd burner then cuz from what i hear what u guys are saying , doing that is illegal also.

I wonder why wenever I redownloaded lime wire the next day its gone I didnt even download it my cousin did.

i just read it and now i have a GIANT headache.

SO IS LIMEWIRE LEGAL OR ILLGEGAL??????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????I GOT LIMEWIRE YESTERDAY AND I HEARD THAT ITS ILLEGAL.YOU TELL ME.

look.all u out there .take a computer class cuz u guys dont no anything about limewire.frostwire.sunwire.shareaza.nore. LIMEWIRE ISNT ILLIGAL.DOWNLOADS FROM IT R.when u download this ur screwed even iff u delete it.no matter wut its in ur hard drive 4ever. the limewire can hack ur harddrive shut it down. and when u take ur computer in to get it fixed theyll ask wut happened and when u mention limwire u get sued,prosocuted,fined put in jail for 1 yr.so worry iff u downloaded it.i will tell u one way to completely get rid of limewire. smash ur harddrive.or get sued. sry but it is the sad truth

could you please specify what exactly on limewire is illegal and what is not? for instance, the program is not, but the way you use it is. can you please explain which concepts you use it for are legal and which ones are not? Thank you!

u no.limewire is not good for your hard drive even iff u use it ligally.illigal part of it is downloads.music,pictures,videos.

Limewire, Pro and Basic are not illegal programs and its perfectly legal to download the software. Whats illegal is the sharing or downloading of copywrited material, ie, music video etc. When you buy a CD you are paying for the material and that gives you the right to listen to it and burn it to a PC etc. When you download music from Limewire you are taking a copy that someone else has bought (or not as the case probably is), therefore, you do not have the right to own it. Sharing music way back when you lent your new cd to your mate was also illegal but nowhere near on the scale sharing takes place in Limewire. Thats why music companies now want to target people who share/download music, because they are the people who fuel the illegal downloading of copywrited material, not programs lile limewire.

Dave (et al) Thank you for putting the answer into plain layman's terms. I plan to share this information with friends and family that have been misled. Although your page is copyrighted, I trust that sharing the information and comments is not illegal.

umm, i have a question, how can you tell if a file is legal or illegal?

They monitor the P2P server then sue you as a James Doe to get ISP to give up your info, suing you over uploads of copywrite content. 25,000 suits to date - less then 1% of active DL's. Bit torrent automatically makes you upload as you DL..Read about it on the web google RIAA lawsiut. I rather buy used thru Amazon.

This whole conversation has been extremely interesting and I do understand the difference between Limewire being legal (also the money paid to do the PRO or extended versions are for the application itself, not the downloading of files from it).

However, I have another question. There are artists out there that do allow their music to be shared, not just the unknown artists, but those who do see some value in sharing their music on many venues. LW shows some copyrighted works using Creative Commons and Weedshare. In addition, the songs that I searched for that didn't show a license did have a Bitzi ticket that stated the song was available for reuse via Creative Commons for Attribution and Share-Alike. Are these also illegal to download for personal use on my computer and/or iPod? I'm not familiar with these (especially the Bitzi Ticket).

Thanks

After reading through the whole posting trail I was moved to answer for myself.
I have used LimeWire for over 3 years and have to be quite honest... every time I click on the icon to start the software I ask myself "Am I going to get caught for downloading this music?" I quickly brush off that inner voice by saying "millions of people are downloading ILLEGAL music using LimeWire I am just a drop in the bucket" Is LimeWire illegal? NO. Does LimeWire let you download illegal music? YES. One other point I want to make here is that when you install LimeWire it defaults to run in the background upon startup of your computer. This sets you up for massive instances of illegally uploaded files. Also you have to configure what folders you are willing to share on the network. I personally only download and share almost nothing. I know this is sort of a copout excuse for using LimeWire but this is how I justify it. I get no monetary gain from the music I have downloaded nor do I share it with others. I see it like this: I listen to the radio for free why not some old tunes I find on LimeWire?
Enough said....use LimeWire at your own risk and be careful how long you leave your computer on with LimeWire running in the background you could potentially be sharing millions of songs without even knowing it.

Wow. Some people are just flat out brainless. Limewire is a genious program. I need to shake the hands of the people who invented it. It washes their hands of any and all crimes. The crimes comitted are done so only by those who upload or download. They use a P2P Network based on tiny islands outside of the US.

Quick question, if I download music from Limewire and save it on my computer for personal use and don't intend to sell it or anything would that still be illegal? I mena I'm just downloading and listening, not making profit out of it or making hardcopies.

So if I can kinda spin this? Your saying that Limewire isn't illegal, but the majority of the stuff on Limewire IS. Such as guns aren't illegal but killing people is. (Stupid stuff like that helps me clear stuff up.) I use it to get songs for my mp3 player, but if I can get into as much trouble as I hear you can get into (1 yr + $25 per song!!!) then I may well stop! I do like InterestingConvo's explanation of it (because it is convienent.) But I still want to know (have you ever seen the rain?) How can I tell if what I'm downloading is illegal? eg. What are legitimate sources? Also, sites that offer free mp3's? Trustworthy? Thank you!

I read you answer regarding Lime Wire and agree wholeheartedly with it. You brought up a side issue which I have a question about.

Is loading/transfering the songs on a CD that I purchased at a store via Itunes onto my own Ipod legal or must I purposely purchase the songs via "Itunes" to load onto my Ipod?

As far as I understand, Thomas, copying media you own onto players you own (for example, ripping a CD onto your computer and copying that to your iPod) is considered "fair use" and is indeed legal. I hope so, I have tens of gigabytes of music on my iPods that I ripped from the hundreds of CDs I own... :-)

yeah limewire is not illegal everybody has there oppinions on this matter i can assure you it is not i was reading through the list and seen a couple of you guys get it does anyone remember winmx that was illegal because all you could do with it was steel copyrighted material or how about napster same for that but when you get in to bearshare or kazza or limewire etc... it is not illegal you have to understand you cant stop them because they specificly state that they do not condone infringment and will not tollorate it either because of that fact it just isent if you say otherwise you would have to say apple itunes is also illegal because you pay them for the song or rights to the songs with limewire you can download a pic on the otherside of the world from your friend that s not wrong is it but if you as an individual should choose to break the agreement whith the company in wich builds the program thats your fault and your wrong doing not thairs you are the one who commited infringment not limewire or bearshare just think of this i live in florida and im constintly hearing of people getting busted for infringment and most of ot was done with p2p and such and they dident shut em down like napster or winmx oh by the way winmx is back up to prove a point and there you guessed it now using p2p to operate you dont believe me google it oh and it looks stupid now it looks like limewire but all red

Downloading from Limewire is legal. Uploading is Illegal

omg it is so confusing. why would limewire let people download or upload illegal stuff.how do you know if a song is illegal????plz help

is there an official government website anyone knows about telling about limewire? has anyone here gotten caught and had to pay fines?

When you buy a CD, you are basically purchasing a license to play and listen to the music. You own the physical materials - the disc, the case - but NOT the music itself. You can rip the songs from the CD onto your computer, but the moment you make that music (mp3, wma, whatever) available for others to use, you are effectively distributing the songs. They're not yours to distribute. Yes, dubbing tapes and giving the copies to your friends in the '80s was common practice - and illegal. When you use LimeWire (or any other p2p software, for that matter), you are opening up a specifically designated folder on your computer for the world to rifle through and take what they desire. If your ripped music (or copies of DVD movies or software or games) is in that folder, you are aiding in the illegal distribution of copyrighted material. You do have a choice on where to keep your ripped files - they don't *have* to reside in the folder you designate in LimeWire.

An excerpt of the fine print off my DVD of Jet Li's "The One" goes a little something like this:
"Unauthorized public broadcasting or copying is a violation of applicable laws." Those would be *copyright* laws.

There is a lot of grey when it comes to copyright law. It wouldn't hurt to look up copyright information on the internet...
just a suggestion.

While you're at it, go ahead and do some Google searches for "illegal downloads limewire fines" and "hacking limewire users."

Also wouldn't hurt to read over this:
http://donnedwards.openaccess.co.za/2005/12/limewire-faq-on-security.html

The average computer user knows just enough to be dangerous, much to the delight of hackers.

Another thought:
Those of you who used LimeWire Basic, then purchased the Pro version, and intended on using LimeWire (either version) to download music, I just have one question: Why did you buy Pro? Why not just use LimeWire Basic to search for and download the Pro version of LimeWire? If you're not going to pay for music, why pay for the software that lets you download the music?

Just curious...

And if this doesn't clear everything up for you, you should turn your computer off, unplug it from the wall, and cancel your internet service.

http://www.limewire.com/about/copyright.php

READ THIS WEB SITE IT TELLS YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW!!!! http://www.limewire.com/about/copyright.php

OMG. How many people can't understand the answer to this question??

Limewire = Legal
Using Limewire to download copywrited content = Illegal

Or just consider this one:

Baseball bat = Legal
Using baseball bat to rob someone = Illegal.

Next time people should read the article BEFORE commenting on it... sheesh!

If I do used limewire and i accidentaly get an illegal file will the goverment of some other people sue or come after me?

People...if you carry on aking if it's legal or illeagal....my suggestion is....just don't download it...

The only thing wrong with files that are shared using p2p connections is if they bring in a profit for the person "sharing" them. Most movies, compact discs, and even vhs have disclaimers clearly stating not to make profit. They say nothing about sharing it. The source of most of the files being shared is a legitimate meduim.

Nick, you're wrong. Sorry, but loss of revenue from you downloading a song / movie rather than buying it is damage enough for a court of law. Whether or not anyone profits from it (and it's no surprise that most of the torrent sites also have online ads (e.g., profit) and that Limewire has a paid premiere edition (e.g. profit).

Well if having it isnt illegal but USING it is, then duh, obviously its all illegal. You dont just have it without using it do you?

Did you know you can download Limewire Pro from limewire itself. Awesome stuff.

For those who say "limewire is illegal because it lets you copy things illegally", I have to ask: is your VCR illegal because it lets you make copies of your movies?

Of course you can use it to make illegal copies, just as your VCR can make illegal copies of movies. However, there are a lot of programs out there which are perfectly legal to distribute freely, and they use limewire, bittorrent, and other p2p networks for perfectly legal distribution.

In other words: it's illegal to use it to do illegal things, but it's perfectly legal to use it to do legal things.

I repair computers for a living and I have never seen a computer with Limewire on it that didn't have a virus or major spyware issues.

so is it still illegal when the music is downloaded after the release of the album??

limewire is not illegal! just the upload is illegal the download is not illegal

i have a question after reading this...
is there anyone tracking u down? and for downloading songs from limewire can u go to jail?

I AM TRYING TO DOWNLOAD THE SOFTWARE JAVA FOR 2 DAYS IT WILL NOT FINISH. EVERY TIME IT START COPYING FILES IT WILL GET STUCK. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM.

Ok i dont think there is anything wrong with limewire. If you download them usic its ok, but if you donwload the music, store it on a disc, and sell it, you are in trouble. If dowloading things from limewire is illeagal, wouldn't youtube be as well.....i mean if you just download the music onto a disc and listen to it on a cd player im pretty sure you wont get arrested. also, dowloading it onto a mp3 player...(ipod) would be illeagal...why dont you just pay a buck for a song....its not that hard.....

So.. limewires illegal.. wow.. i really didnt no.. once again... you save the day dave xD oh well.. i guess my computer is full of illegal stuff then xD but.. is bearshare legal or illegal?

Ok hey now like other people im getting really confused :S but ok i don't download any movies or any documents only songs. and so far im understanding that limewire itself isnt illegal but the content that u download is. but im only downloading songs is that still as bad? and if it is is there a place u can download free songs? because i don't want to pay a doller to download songs. so please someone respond to this.

Ok... in defense of dave.. HE IS RIGHT. LIMEWIRE ISNT ILLEGAL. THE MATERIAL i.e (Music, videos, movies etc) YOU DOWNLOAD FROM LIMEWIRE IS ILLEGAL. I used to download and I quit and deleted the stuff after I found for myself that it was illegal. My recommendation. "The law keeps the people who will obey it in line, For the people who wont obey it? then they will just get in trouble."

who cares if limewire is illegal yeah it is against the law but is just music

I am a youth Pastor and have been trying to sink this concept into the heads of teens for years. The bootom line is... If it doesn't feel like I am strealinig it, then it must not be stealing. No matter how much a thief justifies and convinces himself that he needs a car and can't pay for it, it still makes him a thief once he takes it. Music is no different
Thank you Dave Taylor for your insight.
Greg

limewire kicks ass. when i hear limewire i think FREE PORN!!!

come on people, there are tons of illegal sites on the internet, thus meaning the limewire website itself is NOT ILLEGAL! neither is downloading the application. but, as dave said, it enables you to download and posses illegal content, such as videos, images, but most commonly, audio files.

in a nutshell..
if you download the application, limewire, you have done nothing wrong. hey, maybe you're just curious. okay, but let's say you decide to hit the search button and download your fav justin timberlake song. now you have commited a crime.

it is in all states illegal!
and the charges are very severe.
this although, is not too common.
it's usually completely random.
but, there are ways of putting a huge bull's eye target on you. if you are in anyway selling the songs that YOU stole in the first place, authorities will pin you down faster that you can say oops!

so, in all fairness, just stick to itunes and avoid all this sticky drama;)

i thought it was free when i click on it it tells u to put credit card number in it is confuseing can u help me

Hi Guys,

To anyone reading and thinking of buying Limewire PRO, remember, they do not monitor downloads. If your going to download illegal software you'll find this tip useful, if not, you won't but please don't remove this because if it.

Download Limewire BASIC, search for Limewire PRO and get it for free. Simple? Yes. Illegal? Yes Free? ;). YES.

All the people that are telling you that lime wire is legal are idiots. Its totally illegal and not a bit or a tad, its stealing, period. WHAT THE HELL IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIME WIRE AND GOING TO A MUSIC STORE AND STEALING THE CD'S, NOTHING!!! Who ever downloads lime wire in the first place and keeps it after they know it is illegal is stupid. If you bring your PC to a store to fix it and they see that program they will FINE you. Doesn't that me it's illegal!!!

Andre, You are talking out of your a*s. A store will not fine you, they have no interest or the right to. They may advise you uninstall due to security (spyware) etc. but Im willing to put my life on them not fining you.

do not pay for limewire pro you are getting ripped of.

it's just free!!!

Limewire basic itself is free. Plain and Simple. They offer a Pro version that costs money. Having the program is perfectly legal.

Now, if you use it to download movies, songs, photos, programs etc that are owned by someone else--that is illegal. This means songs you can buy online or at a store, programs you can buy online or at the store, photographs that the original photographer owns, movies produced by a studio.

If I made a song and wanted to share it with others, I could share that song from a folder and tell Limewire to make it available.

If I downloaded a song from Limewire that should have been bought, I committed a crime. If I then make it available for others to download, I have committed another crime. The crime is me downloading it and me sharing it--Limewire is making that possible through my manipulation of the software--again my actions.

So in effect-if you use the software to download protected works, YOU ARE ILLEGAL--not Limewire.

i have limewire on my computer and im not sure if im downloading un-copyrighted material. is there a way i can tell? or how to tell what's what. like if i download something from the Beatles that's not recent and is copyrighted like the song yellow submarine is it illegal?

natasha,

Yes it is illegal, You do not own the song so it is illegal.

To anyone who has paid for limewire BASIC, you have been scammed. It happened to me and my credit details were stolen and sold.

John, if you paid for Limewire BASIC you deserve to be scammed. BASIC is free.

Apologies if repeating what's up top... There are versions of LimeWire you pay for that give you download credits, thus paying for the songs supposedly. For ex, $9.99 will get you 25 songs at 40 cents a song and $19.99 will get you 75 songs at 27 cents a song. Is this still violation of copyright and stealing of the songs when a fee is paid, though a small one?

Limewire does not own the "files", so have no right to sell the copyright. Illegal on both yours and their part, although I have NEVER seen the version of this and doubt I ever will.