Bit Torrent Laws
As BitTorrent gains greater prominence on the Internet, questions about the laws concerning BitTorrent are surely to rise. BitTorrent is a protocol of file transfer, meaning any laws must balance the legal uses of BitTorrent.
Other People Are Reading
-
What is BitTorrent?
-
BitTorrent utilizes a distributed data model to rapidly transfer files from many computers to one computer in thousands of pieces, thus greatly increasing speed and reliability.
BitTorrent Regulations
-
As of late 2009, there are no specific laws governing the usage of BitTorrent in the United States. But the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement is an intellectual property treaty currently being developed on the international stage that will include BitTorrent provisions.
-
Trackers
-
Trackers have been held by courts to be in violation of copyright law as of late 2009 even though the BitTorrent files do not contain copyright infringing media.
"Throttling" Connections
-
Some Internet service providers "throttle" BitTorrent connections. This kind of limitation is within the rights of an ISP so long as it is done in a transparent manner.
Warning
-
The increasing popularity of BitTorrent should not be mistook as an endorsement of its every use. Downloading copyrighted material is always a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
-
References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of theimpressionist.co.uk
