Legal Question in Technology Law in California

Re: Downloading movies, games and music from Internet

It is copyright infrigement... and, if your kids are minors and/or are using internet that you are paying for, you are personally liable.

Re: Downloading movies, games and music from Internet

Your kids are wrong. Downloading copyrighted material without the consent of the copyright holder is illegal. There is some free content legitimately available online, but it is free either because its copyright protection has expired or because the copyright owner has decided to give it away. (Musicians, for example, sometimes give away single songs in the hope that people who like them will purchase others.) Most of what is available for download is available illegally.

Your children's arguments are both mistaken:

1. It is not OK to download TV shows except where the owner has given permission. TV shows are no different from any other copyrighted material. Most shows are broadcast at no charge to the viewer, but only at a particular time on a particular station. This is done with the owner's permission - usually given in exchange for money generated by the sale of advertisements during the show. Downloading the show does not generate any money for the owner.

2. Lots of people use drugs, too, but I'm sure your kids know that doing so is illegal. The idea that there will be no consequence ignores the recent (and ongoing) barage of lawsuits from the Recording Industry of America and other trade groups against people who download materials illegally. Many of the defendants in this cases are minors.