What is filesharing?
Filesharing is the activity of trading digital files with other users over the internet. Users trade files by downloading (to obtain them) and uploading (to distribute them). This is illegal when copyright material is made available without the permission of the rightsholders; which, in the case of sound recordings, are the record companies that created them.
How do people fileshare?
Users download software from the internet to gain access to a filesharing network. When the software is in use, and the user’s connection to the internet is open, the filesharer can trade music files (by uploading or downloading) with others who are online.
Is downloading music illegal?
Downloading is when an internet user obtains a digital music file from the internet – in filesharing this source is another internet user known as an uploader. Unless this act of downloading is done with the permission of the record label (for example, from a licensed service like iTunes), it is unauthorised copying and is illegal.
Uploading is when an internet user allows other internet users to access (and download) their digital music files. This phenomenon creates an enormous illegal library of music available for illegal download using filesharing services.
Copyright law provides that a person must have permission to make a copyrighted work (such as a sound recording) available for download on the internet. Doing so (i.e. uploading) without permission of the copyright owner (in the case of a sound recording, the record label) is against the law, regardless of whether the music was originally obtained legally or illegally by the uploader.
Why is filesharing illegal?
British record companies invest tens of millions pounds annually in new artists, and recoup that by having the exclusive right to copy, distribute and make available their recordings.
Without copyright, labels would have no financial incentive to invest in new music and Britain would not have its world-beating music business. The Copyright, Designs & Patents Act 1988 grants various rights to copyright owners, and people who distribute copyrighted recordings via peer-to-peer networks without permission are breaking the law by infringing those rights.
It is absolutely clear in UK copyright law that unauthorised filesharing is illegal.
Specifically, filesharing runs counter to Section 16, which grants the copyright holder various exclusive rights, including the ‘exclusive right to copy and to communicate works to the public’; and Section 20, which provides that the exclusive right of communication to the public includes making the work available to the public ‘by electronic transmission in such a way that members of the public may access it from a place and at a time individually chosen by them'.
Why is it a problem; does filesharing damage music sales?
Aside from the fact that filesharing infringes and undermines the rights of the creators and investors in music, it’s enormously damaging to music sales.
If record companies are unable to derive income from music sales, that means less money to invest in new music. This is not only bad news for record companies but also for musicians who rely on that investment and for consumers, who want to keep on listening to exciting new British music.
How big a problem is illegal file-sharing?
Online copyright infringement will cost the UK music sector an estimated £200m in 2009, with some 7.3 million people engaged in unlawful filesharing.
Between the years 2007 and 2012 – according to research conducted by Jupiter Research – the cumulative cost to music companies will be £1.2bn. Losses of this order are clearly unsustainable, but the music community cannot tackle the issue alone. We need the support of internet service providers and the government.
I paid for my CD, why am I not allowed to share it with my friends?
When you buy a CD, you buy a personal copy of the music; you do not buy the right to copy or distribute it.
Copying a CD and giving the copy to a friend is an infringement of copyright and is illegal. Uploading music to the internet is an infringement on a much larger scale, as filesharers effectively give away perfect copies of someone else’s work to millions of people for free.
How can you tell which websites are legal?
Although there are some online music services that claim to be legal when they are not, a careful consumer should not find it difficult to identify legal music services.
The usual indicators (quality, price, brand) should be taken into account and consumers should exercise caution. There is a list of authorised digital music services that consumers can view in the Digital Music section of this website.
People should take particular care in relation to filesharing services. Although distributors of filesharing software often claim that it is legal to download their software, using that software to download or upload music will almost always mean breaking the law.
There are also many websites that con users into paying for filesharing software that’s free elsewhere. Paying for the software does not in any way mean that using it to upload or download music is legal.
We advise consumers to err on the side of caution if they have doubts over a website’s legality.
Pop stars and record companies are rich; surely it won’t matter if I download one of their songs for free?
Everyone knows that it’s not legal to steal from someone just because they’re perceived to be rich, but this misses the point.
The impact is felt by the record company who invested in the artists concerned and have to recoup on that investment to invest in new music.
In other words, it’s the new artists that are looking for record contracts that will suffer most, not established artists.
Besides, it's illegal and it's wrong, people have a right to be paid for their work.
Is the BPI lobbying to criminalise filesharers?
No. There are already provisions in law to bring criminal proceedings. But there are no plans to issue criminal cases.
Why don’t you close down the illegal download websites?
There are ongoing copyright infringement actions elsewhere in the world against various illegal download sites and filesharing services that promote copyright infringement.
Launching legal action against major filesharers is a key part of the music business' campaign to ensure that rights are respected on the internet.
How do you find major uploaders?
When filesharing, the uploader’s computer transmits its internet location, so that the downloader’s computer knows where to download from.
The BPI simply logs on to the internet like any other user and looks for downloads. When we download a sample track that track comes with details of the IP address of the filesharer who is offering it.
What can people do to avoid legal risk?
The best way to avoid legal risk is to uninstall filesharing software and by buying music legally.
In any event, internet users should immediately remove the sharing feature on any peer-to-peer software they have installed.
Why doesn’t the music industry license to p2p?
The music industry is enthusiastic about p2p as a distribution technology. However, it must be used in the context of a business model that allows artists and creators to be paid for their work.
Now that technology is available that can filter out unlicensed content, record labels are licensing a new generation of peer-to-peer service that will offer the benefits of peer-to-peer distribution in a legal environment.