Can I make copies from legal optical discs that I possess or from a legal Internet music site?

Possessing a legal physical or digital copy with music does not make you a holder of the relevant rights to this music. The rights are held and will always be held by its creators. But you can listen to this music however you like – on your PC, iPod or other portable player.

The copyright and related rights system contains regulated limitations and exceptions allowing you to make and use copies for personal use only. For example, you can make and use a copy of legal music for you different playing devices – mp3 players, your personal PC, to burn a copy to play it on another player, etc. However, this is for your personal use only.

You can also make a personal copy without breaching the law from a legal digital music file. There are many online stores worldwide, such as Amazon.com, where people are buying singles or albums, and are paying “a la carte”.

Can I freely and legally download music, without paying for it?

Yes, you can, when you use a licensed service, whose rights have been preliminarily licensed by the internet service provider or which you pay with your credit card at the time of downloading. There are legal Internet sites around the world, and in Bulgaria too, although still little in number, that offer licensed music services against a subscription fee or a portion of the advertizing income (ad-supported business models). These models of legal online music business provide the end users with free online streaming of music, or legal and free download of all the music they like as a personal copy. The International Federation of Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has presented a detailed list of all legal sites in its member states, including Bulgaria, on a special internet site www.pro-music.org.

Do I breach the law, if I download music from a pirate site?

If you download music from a pirate site, you also breach the law, even if you pay for this. Many times the music pirates in Bulgaria not only use music without the authorization of the rightholders, but create Internet business models based upon increased traffic generated by the consumers’ interest to creative content online, often misleading their clients to infringe the law, urging them to exchange or upload illegal content, or making them pay by SMS for the right to download protected content, or to get access to links containing pirate music.

When you download music from a pirate site, you become part of the criminal business model of its owners and administrators, and you support their economic proliferation, thus preventing the introduction in Bulgaria of legal business models, which can hardly be competitive in an environment that is almost 100% pirate.

Is it a crime, if I upload music for free use by others in the Internet?

The law in every part of the world, including in Bulgaria prohibits reproduction, distribution and making available of music without the express consent of its authors and right holders. This means that the law does not permit exchange of files and sharing music in the Internet, and therefore, uploading music in the global network is a serious infringement of the law.

Breaching copyright and related rights is a crime in Bulgaria, and the Penal Code contains provisions (art. 172a) defining the various corpora delicti of the act. The provisions cover all possible methods and means of infringing copyright and related rights, including in digital environment, and stipulate criminal prosecution, significant financial sanctions and other penalties, including imprisonment.

Can I share my favourite songs with other users by p2p or torrent trackers?

If you do not hold rights to the music you share in the Internet, or you do not have the express consent of the relevant rightholders, you are not allowed to share this music with other users in the net. Sharing music, including by p2p and torrent trackers, is a material infringement of the law, because this generates and multiplies a large-scale illegal Internet traffic. The consequences for music authors, performers and producers are severe and theirs and the whole industry’s losses are significant. This illegal exchange is constantly increasing nowadays, reaching as much as 80% of the Internet traffic. This negative trend endangers the music creators, preventing them from realizing their music through legal business models, from reaching the expected physical or digital sales and from receiving due remuneration for their work and investments.

What other risk am I exposed to when downloading from pirate sites or using the p2p networks?

Apart from breaching the law, thus exposing yourself to the risk of criminal prosecution, if you share unlicensed protected music by p2p or torrent trackers, you expose your computer and personal data to serious risks. Many p2p networks use software that allows other parties to enter your files and use information from your computer configuration. Virus and hacker attacks can damage or destroy your computer or steal important personal data. Later this information can be used by third parties for criminal purposes, stealing of identity, and other serious personal data abuse, thus making you unintentional perpetrators or accomplice of crimes.