Download

Lore & Background

Downloading on computer networks involves retrieving data from a remote system, like a web server, FTP server, or email server, unlike uploading, where data is sent to a remote server. A download can refer to a file made available for retrieval or one that has been received, encompassing the entire process of obtaining such a file. Downloading is not the same as data transfer; moving or copying data between two storage devices would be data transfer, but receiving data from the Internet or BBS is downloading. Websites that offer streaming media or media displayed in-browser, such as YouTube, increasingly place restrictions on the ability of users to save these materials to their computers after they have been received.

Reader's Guide

Downloading media files involves the use of linking and framing Internet material and relates to copyright law. Streaming and downloading can involve making copies of works that infringe on copyrights or other rights, and organizations running such websites may become vicariously liable for copyright infringement by causing others to do so. Open hosting servers allow people to upload files to a central server, which incurs bandwidth and hard disk space costs due to the files generated with each download. Anonymous and open hosting servers make it difficult to hold hosts accountable. Taking legal action against the technologies behind unauthorized 'file sharing' has proven successful for centralized networks like Napster, and untenable for decentralized networks like Gnutella or BitTorrent. The leading YouTube audio-ripping site agreed to shut down after being sued by a huge coalition of recording labels. Downloading and streaming relates to the more general usage of the Internet to facilitate copyright infringement, also known as 'software piracy'. As overt static hosting of unauthorized copies of works (i.e., centralized networks) is often quickly and uncontroversially rebuffed, legal issues have in recent years tended to deal with the usage of dynamic web technologies (decentralized networks, trackless BitTorrents) to circumvent the ability of copyright owners to directly engage particular distributors and consumers.

Did You Know?

• Downloading generally transfers entire files for local storage and later use, as contrasted with streaming, where the data is used nearly immediately while the transmission is still in progress and may not be stored long
• In Europe, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that it is legal to create temporary or cached copies of works online, as per the British Meltwater case settled on 5 June 2014.
• A Swedish court convicted four men operating The Pirate Bay Internet site of criminal copyright infringement on April 17, 2009, imposing damages of SEK 30 million and one-year prison sentences.
• The Pirate Bay does not store copies of files on its own servers but provides peer-to-peer links to other servers on which infringing copies were stored.