Linux XMBC: New User: Legality questions.
#1
Folks,

I've been an avid Linux user for a while and knew about XBMC for a period of time.
I finally decided to give it a whirl and am really enjoying it.

However, I have just a few queries about it.

I'm not hosting any personal data or streaming data(unless something is being streamed without my permission, maybe I should run a tcpdump to see the outgoing traffic...but I digress).

After doing a brief internet search, I was able to install some repos that stream episodes/movies that are newish in nature.

#I'm not downloading anything
#I'm not storing any contentents locally except my own pics etc.
#I'm only streaming shows/movies
#How much trouble can i get into?
#Has anyone had experience with this?
#Will an ISP warn me prior to anything?

I am just looking for experiences/answers.
I've never overdone torrents or anything in the past so it's a issue that's bothering me a bit.

My question is regarding the legality of me doing this. Obviously I'm in the states and am *extra* cautious since...technically speaking...I am downloading streaming media to memory. **Swear to God, this is no drug based paranoia Tongue i'm just a bit worried**
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#2
Welcome to the forum.

The legality of what you do with those scripts depend on your country of residence. I suggest getting familiar with your local laws. Specially as they can vary greatly on this subject. I will say however that streaming is the exact same thing as downloading.

But these third party repos have no affiliation with XBMC.

And feel free to ask for help on technical problems here.
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#3
Welcome to the XBMC forums.

These are not questions/issues unique to XBMC. If it's something you don't think you should be doing with a web browser, then you probably shouldn't be doing it with XBMC either. XBMC itself is just a media manager application and does not natively provide access to pirated content. As with any application or tool, it can be used appropriately or not, as determined by the user him/herself. If you want to read XBMC.org's Piracy Policy, you may refer to the forum_rules (wiki).
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#4
Some websites allow you to stream, but expect (via terms and conditions etc) that you use a browser or their proprietary app. Some of this is because they want you to see the ads that they thoughtfully provide, some is to ensure you don't keep a copy to view at a time they don't want you to see it, or pass it on to someone else. Examples might be TV web sites that have "webisodes", "watch again" videos, "extra web content" etc. In other words the copyright holder want you to see it, they just want to control how and when you see it.

Whether breaching the terms and conditions is illegal (in a civil sense) or illegal (in a criminal sense) is a moot point in many jurisdictions.

What is far more likely to get you into trouble is passing stuff on to others, particularly for gain. Courts in my country have held that getting download credits for uploading is "gain" - so even downloading a torrent that you share back could be for "gain".

However some of the sites that are banned from discussion here (eg 1channel, icefilms) go a lot further, they are essentially rebroadcasting stuff (recent movies, tv shows) that are not licensed at ALL for distribution outside the copyright holder's usual tightly controlled mechanisms (Big Screen/DVD/Bluray/DRM'd pay services). Those services are pretty assuredly breaking the law. And by accessing them you make a copy, which is also against the law (although perhaps not ciminally so).
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#5
If you can download it from the XBMC.org repo then it should generally be okay because of our repo rules (no piracy stuff), but don't sue me if you somehow end up in jail :D
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XMBC: New User: Legality questions.0