Risking your career on pirating movies/music

Looking back at my few short years, there have been so many chances to get in trouble with the law that could've jeopardized my potential career from petty shoplifting, to assault, cheating, to possession, open containers in a vehicle, pirating movies/music. After getting a job in the securities industry, I'm a lot more wary of those things and avoid them at all costs but I am still torrenting music/movies/ebooks. I'm guessing that if I got caught I would probably lose my job/internship and it would be hard to get back in the industry. So, in terms of risks and rewards, should I refrain from pirating music/movies?

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Best Response

How would you lose your job? Don't upload and you will get a warning, maybe. Even if you got sued, you are given an option to settle. Most of the cases are tenuous at best and you could afford a letter to push back a little. These RIAA lawyers are going after little people because they are cheap to sue. You think they want to bother with someone who could afford a lawyer to make them actually prove the bullshit they are accusing you of?

What you posted is a big problem with this country. Everyone has done stupid shit, just some people are unlucky and get caught. We really need to be a little more forgiving of past indiscretions.

 

You'll lose your job if you do it at work, or with work gear/a work hookup, but not if you do it on your own time with your own internet connection. Piracy actions are civil, not criminal; getting sued for copyright infringement doesn't constitute a criminal record or anything.

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You won't lose your job,but you might end up paying ridiculous amounts of money if the RIAA pounces on your ass.

Still I Rise
 
ambition56Looking back at my few short years, there have been so many chances to get in trouble with the law that could've jeopardized my potential career from petty shoplifting, to assault, cheating, to possession, open containers in a vehicle, pirating movies/music. After getting a job in the securities industry, I'm a lot more wary of those things and avoid them at all costs but I am still torrenting music/movies/ebooks. I'm guessing that if I got caught I would probably lose my job/internship and it would be hard to get back in the industry. So, in terms of risks and rewards, should I refrain from pirating music/movies?

Dude, don't download music. The music industry's watchdog, the RIAA, is the most vociferous prosecutor torrentors in America. If you want to download movies, go to icefilms.info. No one cares if you download ebooks.

I am not cocky, I am confident, and when you tell me I am the best it is a compliment. -Styles P
 

1) Don't do it at work, this should be obvious 2) Only use private trackers, which are generally more secure 3) A U.S. court ruled this month that an IP address is not the same thing as a person's identification. This means that the RIAA's #1 strategy for catching individuals is greatly weakened. What they usually do is upload something they own to Pirate Bay (for example), collect the IP addresses of everyone that downloaded that file, then use that to identify people. This court ruling basically said IP addresses cannot be used to subpoena people anymore. Yay.

 
ThaVanBurenBoyzWhat they usually do is upload something they own to Pirate Bay (for example), collect the IP addresses of everyone that downloaded that file, then use that to identify people.

If you're downloading FROM the content owner, how could that be infringement? They're knowingly giving away their IP for free; this is not infringement, even if they charge for it elsewhere.

 
dabanobo
ThaVanBurenBoyzWhat they usually do is upload something they own to Pirate Bay (for example), collect the IP addresses of everyone that downloaded that file, then use that to identify people.

If you're downloading FROM the content owner, how could that be infringement? They're knowingly giving away their IP for free; this is not infringement, even if they charge for it elsewhere.

You're right. I'll be honest, I don't know their strategy exactly. I know this is how the RIAA collected IPs. My guess is they took the IPs to the relevant ISPs, who would then send warning letters, or monitor the customer and collect illegal activity data. I know ISPs had a role in it.

 

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