Using A Torrent Makes You Criminal?

Be it Game of Thrones or Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, Deadpool or Udta Punjab, Call of Duty:

Black Ops or The Fault in Our Stars, Beyoncé or A. R. Rahman… torrents have always been
there for us.

Downloading illegal stuff is illegal. Do not share what you download distributing is illegal

India has always been a free haven for accessing torrent websites, but it would now appear that
even accessing these comes with a warning: three year jail, and a possible fine of Rs 3 lakh. In the
past, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has issued orders for blocking of websites, over
illegal and pirated content, but new ones keep popping up.

Viewing, downloading, exhibiting or duplicating an illicit copy of the contents

under this URL is punishable as an offence under the laws of India, including
but not limited to under Sections 63, 63-A, 65 and 65-A of the Copyright Act,
1957 which prescribe imprisonment for 3 years and also fine of upto Rs.
3,00,000

Section 63 makes knowingly infringing or abetting copyright in a work

(includes a movie, song, software, books, etc.) an offense.

Infringement happens when any person:

a. makes copies of;

b. distributes;

c. carries out public performance (with respect to a play, script, novel, song,
etc.);

d. makes a movie or sound recording;

e. translates;

f. creates adaptations

of any work without the permission of the person who has got the exclusive
right to do any or all of the above acts.

Section 52 of the Copyright Act lists the exceptions to infringement of

copyright. Under Section 52, one of those exceptions includes fair dealing
(except a computer program) for private private use of any copyrighted work.
What constitutes fair dealing is not defined in the law. So, if a person views or
downloads a song, video, etc, for his own viewing, it may constitute an
exception and may not amount to an offence under Section 63.

Section 63A provides for greater punishment with respect to a second or

subsequent offense. So, clearly that is not applicable to here.

Section 65 makes possessing a plate for the purpose of making an infringing

copy an offence. A plate is defined (among others and relevant to this
discussion) as a duplicating equipment intended for reproducing copies of any
work. Viewing or downloading work may not be interpreted as possessing a
plate for purpose of making infringing copies. Hence, this provision is not
applicable to viewing or downloading of movies or songs from a Torrent site.

Section 65A talks about circumventing technical measures deployed for

protecting copyright. This section is directly applicable to cracks used for
installing pirated software. Any person using a crack for defeating activation
requirements or to dispense with a license key is liable under this provision.
Other instances would include access to a subscription site like Netflix or any
other similar site by hacking.

Section 63B (not given in the message displayed onscreen) is directly

applicable to use of pirated computer programs and makes it an offence. There
is no equivalent of Section 63 for content other than software programs.

Merely browsing a torrent website cannot be an offense unless one begins to

download and store. Even then, if one is not distributing or circulating the
content downloaded from Torrent websites, it is doubtful whether an offense
is made out under the current laws.

This discussion does not apply to computer programs. We can always stretch
the law and prosecute by misusing. So if given a choice, download a movie, but
don't share it amongst your friends.
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