Is it crime to download torrents in india

Before we delve into this subject, we need to understand what constitutes Copyright Infringement. Section 51 of the Copyright Act, provides that when an individual without the permission of the owner of the copyright holder, does an act which is exclusively permitted to only the owner of the copyright and makes copies of the original work of the copyright holder, then it is said to be an infringement of the copyright and is punishable under the statute. Section 63 of the Act deals with the offence of infringement of copyright which shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term not less than six months extending up to three years and fine not less than fifty thousand rupees extending up to two lakh rupees.

Punishment can be less than six months or fine less than fifty thousand when the infringement was not for gains or profits during the course of trade or business. Also, Section 65 of the Act provides for the punishment for possession of plates.

These are tools through which artistic and other files can be copied. Any person who is knowingly using these plates or is in possession of a plate is liable for punishment for 2 years along with fine. Just as there are counterfeiting machines used for the purpose of duplicating currency notes, in the same manner, photocopy machines, computers or laptops can be used for duplicating work containing copyright.

Looking through the prism of plates, we can conclude that when an individual views a torrent file, he does not infringe the copyright just by viewing it, but when the individual downloads the said content from the website and copies it onto different devices in order to spread it, it becomes violation of the laws.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited [5] , wherein it opined that merely viewing the unlawful copy of the film is not punishable in India. The offense is in making copies, giving in distribution, public exhibition or for sale or hire without the consent and permission of the copyright owner. What the statutes say on legality of torrent in India? A recent controversy arose on the legality of torrent websites in India.

Clearing all current ambiguities, a detailed answer to the above query is required. Whether visiting a torrent site in Indian is a crime or not? If no, then can a mere download of a torrent file makes you a criminal?

Which law governs these issues? Not very long time before, a message displayed on the screen while accessing torrent website said,. Merely visiting and browsing a torrent website is not an offence under the Indian law. If one downloads files from a torrent, then also it is not a crime under the laws providing he is viewing it in private.

This is what interpretation of relevant statutes say on legality of torrent in India. If a person starts distribution of these files or public showcase of the downloaded material then only, law can grab hold of him. These observations are derived from the following legal points and statutes. When a person knowingly infringes or abets the infringement of making copies, distribution, public performance of,. It is an offence when done without the permission of the person who has got exclusive rights to grant it.

This is an offence punishable with a fine upto 3 lakhs and 2 years jail term. In a torrent website, there are plenty of works including songs, movies and other such work over which copyright exists.

When makes copies of; translates; trades; distributes or creates an adaptation of the work of the original work. No, using for a personal purpose including research is considered as an exception to infringement as it under fair dealing provided in section 52 of the act.

Section A : Increased punishment in case the offense mentioned in section 63 is committed for the second or any subsequent times. The imprisonment in such a case shall not be less than a period of one year extending up to three years, fine not less than one lakh rupees may extend up to two lakh rupees.

Section 65 : If any person expressively makes copies or has in possession any plate tools with the help of which the process of copying is done with the intention of making infringing copies of works that are protected by copyright, shall be punished with imprisonment up two years and fine.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited and Ors [1] opined that merely viewing the unlawful copy of the film is not punishable in India. The offense is in making copies, giving in distribution, public exhibition or for sale or hire without the consent and permission of the copyright owner. Since torrent sites only contain the information, so if you download a torrent file it is not a crime but if you start downloading from there, then it is punishable.

So, the manner of use of torrent is important to depict its legality. For example, if used for downloading copyright-protected material or any pirated software, then it is illegal. I think now the scenario is changed. When I was new with the internet I used to download movies from torrent. It was really amazing as I can get a good quality movie with best resolutions. Speaking of today's time I feel banning torrent is useless. Although its illegal, but I haven't read news of arresting people for that.

There are many more options than torrent in which you can watch movies day after releasing with camera print. And a week later you can get HD prints with good resolution on the internet itself. Also there are sites from which you can purchase the movie or you can rent on. These are some of the apps which I used for watching latest as well as old movies. I think purchasing a movie is worth on Google as you have life time subscription. Also if you don't like you can get a refund. I hope you can find your movie in this applications.

Has anyone been arrested for downloading torrents in India? What I'm trying to know is whether the government has already became serious about implementing the law? On a related note; what are the ways you can actually pay to watch content of your choice? For example, I wish to see the movie Bridge of Spies and I'm willing to pay a fee to watch it.

Rather, the Supreme Court took a U-turn saying that watching and downloading pirated films online isn't a crime! Intriguing isn't it? But since there was no strict action taken, meaning no news of people being arrested for downloading movies, tv shows via torrents, people decided to go back to their original measures. It just makes me wonder if there is really any way to bottle this problem.

The content producers who want to sell their stuff must definitely suffer losses due to the masses illegally downloading the content especially related to entertainment. Some of my friends have argued that they want to watch American TV shows that neither telecast anywhere on Indian TV channels, nor available on any of the streaming websites such as Netflix, Hotstar etc.