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Legal way to stream games on phone?


Boo-Bird

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1 hour ago, ndirish1978 said:

At the end of the day the real question is whether you will get in trouble for it. At present you will not.

 

Some people just don't wanna feel like they are stealing regardless if they would get in trouble for it or not.

 

My thing is this...I have spent THOUSANDS of dollars with the NFL over the years. This year I bought 4 tix to two games and about to re-up on some Bills gear. If I watch free online or go to a sports bar and watch for free...it changes NOTHING for them. I don't feel bad regardless of the legalities. I also don't feel bad when I break the speed limit while driving.

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The subject of streaming copyright protected media is an interesting one.  There have not been sufficient modern cases on this topic.  What does exist is contradictory and varies greatly based on country.  The argument for legal is predicated on media case law that existed before the internet.  A movie theater showing copyright material is the guilty party, not the people viewing it.  However, in streaming media you are technically downloading data and rebroadcasting the media yourself.  This both implies you are "broadcasting" and that you are, however temporarily,  in possession of the copyright material.  In the EU there is currently the closest thing to a ruling on this subject,  and it does lean more in favor of the streamer than the content owner.

 

Regardless, the one thing that provides a margin of safety is that it is significantly less effort and far more effective to attack the source of the stream than the consumer.  This has contributed to the lack of clarity from courts on the subject.  This should be clarified in domestic and international courts in the next few years as more cases make their way through. 

 

The one thing that is blatently clear is that a full, consumer aware, download of copyright material is illegal.  Whether you view it or not you are in possession.  Meaning if you have the option to stream, do it, you are in gray area as opposed to confirmed illegal.

 

FWIW:  I pay the NFL and stream all my bills games from London or another random European location.  I'm sure they wonder about my "travel schedule", but they are happy to have a paying consumer.

Edited by Rew
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6 hours ago, StHustle said:

Viewing steams of NFL games on reddit is 100% legal. It is only illegal to share or copy (download) copyrighted material. It is in fact NOT illegal to simply view it on your phone or computer. If that were the case it would be illegal to watch YouTube videos that contain copyrighted material or Facebook Live videos that show live games. You cannot break the law by watching a YouTube video or a Facebook Live.

 

So many people have a misunderstanding of this.

 

Why was nba reddit shut down then ? 

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1 minute ago, Teddy KGB said:

 

Im confused.   Why are nfl streams okay but nba ones aren’t ? 

 

It I illegal to provide a stream of copyrighted material. It is also illegal to posses (as in have a downloaded file) unconsented copyrighted material.

 

It is not illegal to view someone else streaming. Nor is it illegal to watch recorded copyrighted material.

 

You know how many YouTube videos have illegal copyrighted material? You are not breaking the law by watching them on YouTube?

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7 hours ago, Boo-Bird said:

I have a wedding to attend tomorrow out of town, starting at 2 PM (yes, on a Sunday )

 Lol. Is there a way to stream games on an Android phone? I was able to watch the Bears/Packers Thurs on my phone through the Yahoo Sports app. There's a countdown timer till the Bills game. Thanks! 

"Legal" is such a loose term. Are we talking Pats legal or Joe Schmoe legal?

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Just now, StHustle said:

 

It I illegal to provide a stream of copyrighted material. It is also illegal to posses (as in have a downloaded file) unconsented copyrighted material.

 

It is not illegal to view someone else streaming. Nor is it illegal to watch recorded copyrighted material.

 

You know how many YouTube videos have illegal copyrighted material? You are not breaking the law by watching them on YouTube?

He's baiting.

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7 hours ago, Boo-Bird said:

I have a wedding to attend tomorrow out of town, starting at 2 PM (yes, on a Sunday )

 Lol. Is there a way to stream games on an Android phone? I was able to watch the Bears/Packers Thurs on my phone through the Yahoo Sports app. There's a countdown timer till the Bills game. Thanks! 

Is it your wedding? 

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