Why Legal Movie Download Sites will Supersede Bootleg Movies Online

There has been an increasing number of legal movie download sites appearing online, since Clickbank and other began to rein in the illegal P2P sites that have been prevalent in the past. However,  bootleg movies online downloads have not decreased very significantly because of this, which indicates that there is still a market for illegal downloads in spite of the increased availability of the legal equivalents.

Why is this?  Is it because of the thrill of beating the big guys, or is just because it is illegal that people continue to do it? I have no idea, and while my own personal opinion on the matter is well known, I am puzzled as to why perfectly good sites that are licensed to allow downloading of movies from a membership site are ignored in favor of those that are patently promoting illegal downloading of copyrighted material.

Here is a brief synopsis of the legal and illegal sites currently available in terms of how the two types of site operate.

DVD Libraries

A solution to the file sharing software problem is being used by legal movie download sites such as Movies Capital that can offer 100% legal movie downloads without the use of file sharing software.  The site consists of a vast library of DVDs that have been licensed for hiring online by means of downloading them. Once you have paid a membership fee, you have access to a massive library of legal DVDs.

There's not much else to say about it really, because it's legal and it's inexpensive. Perhaps it would be more glamorous if it was illegal and offered bootleg movies online, but it's not and is acceptable to both Google and Clickbank.

File Sharing

Also known as Peer to Peer, or P2P, this is what all the trouble is about. Members are able to download and use file sharing software that works thus:

a)  Member A logs on, and is seeking the latest movie, game or music track so carries out a search using the site search box.

b)  Members C-W all have the movie or track on their hard disk and member A sees a list showing how many different sources there are of each version of the south after movie, game  or music track.

c)  Member A clicks to download, and the file sharing software copies the file from the hard disks of those members that have it.  The more than have it, the faster the download.

d)  Member A has downloaded the movie, game or track and can view, play or listen to it.

There is nothing illegal with that sequence of events unless the downloaded file is protected by copyright - which most downloaded material is.  In spite of what you might read, owning or using file sharing software is not illegal. Using it to download or copy copyright-protected material is illegal, and you can be prosecuted and face a heavy fine if caught.

Not many are caught in relation to the numbers that break the law, which is why the music and movie industry is trying to force the issue with internet providers. The want the websites of those involved in this trade to be removed from the net - in fact their entire internet access removed.  I am not sure about the legality of that either, although it is unlikely that it will come to pass, at least not as long as using the software legally is not illegal.

You are advised, however, to stick to the legal movie download sites, and leave file sharing software and bootleg movies to others. Let them take the chances, although if you did decide to break the law in this way you would be unlikely to get caught, but don't quote me on that!