How to Download Free Online Movies - By: Pete Nisbet

It is easy to download free online movies, but they aren't really free. You have to pay a membership fee, and while it is a lifetime fee (unless you choose to try it for one or two years) you still pay, so it's not free. The software used is open source, meaning it's free for anybody to download, so why the fee?

Generally that is to pay for an accelerated downloading speed, better file storage than the free version offers and support. The raw open source software can be difficult to use, but the fee payable is relatively small when you consider what it can do for you. You can not only download free online movies, but also download free music online and download free games.

The one proviso is that the files you download must either be in the public domain, or have been approved for you to download. All the problems you may have read about regarding P2P file sharing software relates to illegal downloads of copyright-protected material. That means just about anything made in the modern era, other than movies and music tracks allowed for free distribution by the copyright owners.

That understood, there is a still a lot of music and movies that you can download that is in the public domain. The attempts by the music and movie industry to lengthen the life of copyright don't help, although people should be able to make money from their creations, at least throughout their own lifetime. Nevertheless, there are still many good movies for you to download.

Many people are tempted to download free online movies illegally. While it can be frustrating to be offered these, you are advised not to do so. The same file sharing software is used to download current blockbusters and top music albums as is used for the legal copyright-free files. So how do you tell the difference, and how can you avoid breaking the law by downloading online movies that are copyright protected?

Most good P2P file sharing services will inform you whether or not a license is available to download a specific movie. If it is not, you have you have the option of carrying on, and downloading the movie, or cancelling the download instruction. The problem is that that you can download just about every movie made using this software, and it is left to the ethics of the person concerned (i.e. you) whether or not to continue.

To sum up, it is illegal to download free online movies that are protected by copyright. Almost all movies made over the past 50 years are so protected, and the same applies to computer and video games and to music tracks and albums: the same file sharing software package will download all of these.

It is legal to use the software to download products in the public domain or that the copyright owner is permitting to be downloaded free of charge. The 'Free' , therefore, applies not to the software package you use to download such movies, but to the movies themselves: they can be downloaded 'free' in the sense that you don't pay for the movie as opposed to the software system used to download it.

If you feel tempted to download free online movies, first make sure that they are not still under copyright. If they are, then they will be bootleg movies that you cannot legally download.

About the Author

More information on how to download free online movies legally is available from Pete's website Online Free Movies where you will also find alternative file sharing software packages that will enable you to do so. Keep in mind that it is possible to download any movies and music using such software, but only legal if it is copyright free.

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