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Originally Posted by (darwinist,) </span><blockquote><span class="smallfont">Quote:</span><hr size="1" />Originally Posted by
Actually, as copyrighted materials under the ownership of whatever company the artist signed a contract with in order to produce and distribute them, sharing them is still theft. Now, yes, people who distribute are found more in trouble with the law than just those who simply download, but the bootlegger and his clients are both guilty in the eyes of the court.
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Thank you Rebel. That is what i have been looking for on the web. For the last few days.
Theft is, wait for it............ " Stealing "
Yes...!!! 
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I sifted through bloody copyright acts (
Copyright Act,
DMCA, etc...) for this and none have mentioned possession to be illegal (with some exceptions Waychel mentionede). There are no provisions or penalties mentioning posession. Civil suits are possible in the case of software and breaking the EULA, but proving intent of possession gives the defendant a very large advantage.
Waychel is right. Sharing is illegal. Owning for private use (by not sharing or distributing) is not illegal in the United States. If you're an employee who privately uses mp3 on the office computer, then you're an end-user pirate. But at home, you're safe from the FBI. "Theft" and "stealing" doesn't always mean illegality. What do you call former Enron excecutives?
Free and rich.
What I don't get is why you can be prosecuted for buying bootleg videos but not for CDs or digitally copied movies. Or is it possible, but harder to prove on the web?