As an exception, Dutch law fully prohibits the illegal sharing of “cracked” software (software that ordinarily requires payment to use). Still, however, anyone who downloads movies, music, TV shows, or games via torrents will not get in trouble with the law. After the country joined the EU, a Court of Justice decided that this fee was unreasonable, and it was removed. Dutch media-playing devices used to charge a “personal copying fee” tax upon purchase. In the same vein, downloading copyrighted material is not technically legal. However, there is “formal tolerance” for their sale and use. A little-known fact is that these drugs are not actually legal under Dutch law. The Dutch government uses the same approach it takes with cannabis with copyrighted works, for the most part. The Netherlands is known for its lax policies on drugs prohibited in most countries, and it should also be known for its tolerant view on torrenting. However, if they were to share a show produced and released in Canada, they could face hefty fines. Canada has stringent copyright laws, but these notably only apply to Canadian works.įor example, if a user shares an episode of a U.S.-based TV show, they would not be subjected to penalties under Canadian law. Canadians are allowed to torrent virtually anything, so long as it’s not for financial gain. Unlike the United States, Canada has fairly easygoing rules on file-sharing. In other words, they aren’t willing to explicitly make the practice legal, but they promise to not prosecute users as long as they follow guidelines. Other countries are less relaxed about torrenting for private use but still have “formal tolerance” for the practice. The only protected activity is downloading. However, per a 2010 court decision, it is still illegal to upload or “seed” a copyrighted file. Just like in Spain, profiting off of torrents is expressly illegal. Notably, software is always unlawful to download via torrent. Swiss courts have declared that torrents are “ protected speech“, so they are legal to download. However, much like its infamously anonymous banking system, Swiss law demands that all upload and download history remains private. Switzerland, the country famous for remaining neutral in most matters, does have copyright laws. This may soon change, as some politicians are beginning to question whether failure to honor copyrights could be a violation of international treaties. Though its neighbor, the United States, relies on intellectual property rights to thrive, Mexico’s economy is not based in media. Sharing copyrighted material is legal in Mexico because the nation’s laws have virtually nothing on the books regarding copyright. MexicoĪ lesser-known torrent-friendly country is Mexico. However, profiting in any way off of the contents is not. In 2006, the country’s courts determined that it is legal to share copyrighted content online. This practice is relatively rare, since explicitly allowing torrenting of copyrighted material is likely in violation of international treaties, and many economies rely on the concept of Intellectual Property to an extent. However, Microsoft may not turn such a blind eye if hackers find a way to run pirated games torrented through Torrex Pro direct to the Xbox One.4 Being on the Safe Side Which Countries Allow Torrenting?Ĭertain countries have explicit laws that legalize the practice of downloading protected content. Torrenting itself isn't illegal - it's a perfectly legitimate form of file distribution - but the technology is frequently used in online piracy to share movies, TV shows, and pretty much any other form of media.įinebits stresses "this application is designed to download/share legal content" - and there's a tonne of legally available content distributed through torrents, much of it older works that have entered public domain, or modern content offered directly through Bittorrent. What will be interesting to see now is how, if at all, Microsoft polices the app. Finebits already lists support for Windows Holographic, despite the Hololens hardware not being on sale anywhere yet. The nature of UWP means the app should scale to other Microsoft products too. The compatibility is made possible due to Microsoft's push for its Universal Windows Platform - software that runs on any Windows-related device, from smartphones to desktop PCs, via a games console. Plans to bring Torrex Pro to Xbox One were revealed in May.
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