Question regarding mentioning "Torrent" downloads on forum

[Aoi]

Honestly, I am anxious to watch "Battle of Gods" as soon as I can. As far as I see, the only way to do this would be through Torrent downloads. Would it be possible to open a thread regarding this, or is it against the rules?

Thank you.

[VegettoEX]

No. We will not support the open discussion of illegally-distributed, recent, widely-available* material.

(* we recognize that the movie isn't "widely-available" when it opens in Japan, but just because you want to see it doesn't give you the legal right to get access to it, and there will undoubtably be a formal Blu-ray/DVD release down the road)

[DragonBalllKaiHD]

Really? Wasn't streaming Dragon Ball Kai from Japan illegal too? Aren't both the same thing? Because at that time Kai wasn't even released on DVD/Blu-Ray yet. Wouldn't Movie 14 be in that category since it hasn't hit the store yet?

[linkdude20002001]

Actually, there was a legal program made by the Japanese government for streaming Japanese TV called KeyHole or something. It was created to promote Japanese culture in foreign countries, or something to that effect.

[Hujio]

Streaming live, free terrestrial television and bootlegging a theatrical film that can only be viewed with paid admission are completely different things. Dragon Ball Kai aired on Fuji TV, a station similar to ABC, NBC, or CBS here in the United States. As long as you own a TV, you're able to get the station. It doesn't require that you have cable or satellite service. In essence, you were essentially watching TV from Japan as if you were actually in Japan, only really you're a far ways away and the video isn't all that great. The KeyHoleTV software was developed by OISEYER Inc. (based in California) in partnership with the Japanese company, Cognitive Research Laboratories, Inc. (based in Tokyo). The software allows you to watch free programming, with all of their commercials in-tact. There's nothing really illegal about it, since you're only viewing the programs and not downloading them onto your computer without the commercials for your own personal means.

Torrents on the other hand are essentially the opposite, and are nefariously used to provide copyrighted retail materials to those that did not originally purchase them. Hence, it's illegal. We may want to see the movie, but simply "wanting" to see something doesn't give anyone the "right" to see it, especially without paying for it. And besides, the only torrents you'll find until a home video release is announced are from people with video cameras in the theaters. Now what's not illegal about that?

[Tzigi]

I have a somewhat related question: as camrips will surely find their way to the internet, will the members who state that they've watched the movie in such a way viewed in the same light as those who ask for links to illegal downloads and so on? A similar situation is happening at EvaGeeks (the "Kanzenshuu" of Evangelion) where there is no way anyone can link to a camrip, many people openly say that they've watched it and they are discussing NME 3 using this version as a basis. Also I strongly doubt that a thread for torrents would even be necessary as simply taping "torrent" "Battle of Gods camrip" will surely provide people with links to such content

[VegettoEX]

I can't do anything about what you all do in your spare time with your own technology in your own home in a place that is not my site.

We just ask that people be considerate, coy if need be, and not act like total jerks about it. At the same time, we have TONS of folks here either in Japan or able to get to Japan if need be, so there will be legitimate discussion from people who legitimately see the movie in theaters. I have no desire or time to jump in and do background checks on everyone to see who had access to what, though, so please: just be awesome. That's all I ask! Just be awesome.

[Adamant]

Actually, there was a legal program made by the Japanese government for streaming Japanese TV called KeyHole or something. It was created to promote Japanese culture in foreign countries, or something to that effect.

It was created for a government-sponsored experiment on video streaming, and made freely available for the public to use. The public largely used it to provide illegal TV streams.

So while the program itself was legal enough, those streams you watched on it were anything but. The author of the program was even taken to court over it, but got away because he was able to prove piracy hadn't been the intended purpose of it.

[linkdude20002001]

So confused! ...But okay. Grr... Now I'm illegal. Haha.