Here are some pointers on how to distinguish illegal movie download sites:
1.If the website claims to have “millions of movies to download” , “80 million movies online”, “movies,Tv shows and music downloads” etc.. all for a small one time fee then you can almost be certain the website will sell you P2P software.
2.Try looking at the small print in bottom part of the website’s main page.
usually for illegal P2P movie download sites you will find some kind of warning that looks like this: (most of these sites use the very same warning)
“There are currently millions of users downloading and trading files legally on file-sharing networks. You can, for example, legally download music from over 850 bands and over 20,000 live concerts but also have access to multiple software titles and games. File sharing has enabled music fans from around the world to build the largest library of recorded music in history. File sharing is not illegal as long as you obey and comply with all relevant copyright laws. Sharing copyrighted material without the permission to do so is illegal. You will find detailed instructions on how to stay legal within the member's area. The purchase of a membership, however, is not a license to upload or download copyrighted material. We urge you to respect copyright and share responsibly.”
Here is another popular text you may find on these sites
“This website has no affiliation whatsoever with the owner of this software program and only provides links to freeware and/or shareware software, technical support and tutorials.“
3. Try looking for a genuine trust seal on the website’s registration pages, for example moviescapital.com has a trust seal from Ebuyershield.com on its registration page.
4.A number of record companies, movie studios and individual artists post information on their official website to let you know if they allow their copyrighted material to be distributed online.
Be sure to check those specific sites before you download their material from any third party or share it with others.
About Copyright of Movies
Copyrights are only valid for fifty to one hundred twenty years. As soon as a copyright expires, the material that one once protected becomes open to the public. Material that is available in public domain can legally be copied, distributed and downloaded by anyone, anywhere, anytime. The majority of recent works are most likely protected currently under copyright laws.
