Law-Forums.org

[fychan97]

I've been wanting to watch Hyouka and a few new K-ON! episodes lately, but the fact that people keep saying that watching anime online is illegal is bothering me. Though it might not be a "serious" law as people say, to me law is a law and should be abided by. Also, I know a lot of people tend to say "yes", but I believe that Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, stating that "the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright... factors to be considered shall include: (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work," makes it not illegal. Right?

[edin]

Absolutely illegal, no question. Fair use is, as you quoted, about reproducing material for things like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. You're making a reproduction solely for the purpose of your own entertainment. That's not fair use.
If you stream a couple of minutes of an episode to demonstrate something to the animation class that you're teaching, that may be fair use. Or if you use some frames to illustrate points that you're making in your review of the anime, that may be fair use. But reproducing the entire thing just so you can watch it? Not even close.

[bearchan]

Absolutely illegal, no question. Fair use is, as you quoted, about reproducing material for things like criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research. You're making a reproduction solely for the purpose of your own entertainment. That's not fair use.
If you stream a couple of minutes of an episode to demonstrate something to the animation class that you're teaching, that may be fair use. Or if you use some frames to illustrate points that you're making in your review of the anime, that may be fair use. But reproducing the entire thing just so you can watch it? Not even close.

No, 17 USC § 107 "Fair use" has almost NOTHING do to with the copyright infringement you describe. If the films you are watching were uploaded by anyone other than the copyright owners, or someone with the necessary distribution license from the copyright owners, then those copies are, in fact, illegal. That makes any download also illegal, as you cannot turn an illegal copy into a legal one by making more copies.

When you or the others are caught, you could be swept up in the group of everyone else who conspired to rob the copyright owners of their legally protected income from the rights you intentionally violated.