File-sharing software and sites are technically legal to use, although the majority of file-sharing that happens on these sites is illegal. Using file-sharing sites to upload copyright protected media (which includes films, music, videos, images and software) without the copyright holder's consent is illegal. Buying a DVD of a film or TV programme does not give ownership of the copyright for that material. It allows you to watch, but not to distribute online. Downloading rights-protected material from these sites without rights-owners permission is illegal because this too breaches copyright protection. Internet investigators patrol these sites and monitor IP addresses that are uploading and downloading illegal content.

Copyright is important because it protects the livelihoods of the people that make film and TV programmes. Workers in film, TV and music depend upon people paying a fair price for creative works for their future income.

It’s also important to support investment in future production. Making feature films is a risky and expensive business - production companies rely on sales of Cinema tickets, DVDs, downloads and income from TV to recover their production costs. Without such sales, far fewer films might be made in the future and a smaller range.

It's illegal to copy a work protected by copyright if you do not have the permission of the rights owner. Some websites allow people access to film and TV content without the proper permission. By downloading or uploading this content, you are in serious risk of acting illegally. You can tell that a website contains illegally obtained film or TV content if, for example, it offers you content that has not yet been shown in the cinemas or broadcast on TV in the UK, or if the content is being offered for download at knock down prices. It is legal to broadcast or upload a film or TV programme if you have the relevant rights owner's permission.

There are a number of exceptions to the general rule that you cannot copy a film or TV programme without the rights owners' permission. The most relevant of these to consumers is with time shifting. This applies only in relation to TV or film content that is broadcast on the television. Time shifting allows you to legally copy a TV broadcast of a film or TV programme (on to a DVD or computer hard drive, for example) only when:

• you make the copy in your own home; and
• you copy from the original broadcast; and
• your only reason for copying is to view the broadcast at a more convenient time.

This time shifting exception does not apply if you then share this copy with others by sending it to them or uploading it for them to download. If I have obtained a legal download of a film or TV programme can I share it with others?

If you have downloaded a legal copy of a film or TV programme from a legitimate website then you do not own it but you hold it under licence from the TV programme rights owner. For example, when you buy a DVD, you do not own the copyright in the film contained in the DVD - you simply have a licence to watch it. Usually you will be prohibited from making a copy of the DVD for anyone else.

Before you consider sharing or copying your licensed download with anybody else, you should check the conditions that apply to it. If you are in any doubt, you should contact the company that granted you the original permission to download. If you have downloaded a broadcast to view at a more convenient time (see the time shifting exception above) and then use it for another purpose, you risk acting illegally. For example if you then upload the broadcast onto the Internet for others to download.

Films are released in cinemas before they become available to buy or download. This means any film you see for sale or available for download while it's still on at the cinema is not being sold legally.

If you have a film title on DVD that has not yet been released in the UK, if it is not anywhere in the world in DVD format, or it is currently on in the cinema, then it is more than likely to be a pirate copy. Buying DVDs from a reputable retailer and shunning 'new' DVDs available from online sites are a few ways of avoiding buying a pirated DVD, but there are other ways to ensure you know what you are buying. If you are in any doubt you can contact us at info@copyrightaware.co.uk

There are lots of legal downloading sites available now, from Love Film through to Apple and BT.

For a complete list, click here. There will normally be a charge if a film is legally on a site, and so it’s normally quite a big clue if you’re not being asked to pay to view the film.

The overwhelming majority of knock off DVDs in the UK are ‘burned’ copies, i.e. they are produced using DVD burners rather than being imported from manufacturing plants overseas. It is often easy to tell if they are knock offs as the packaging and printing is inferior to that which you would find on legitimate DVDs.

The original source of the films is nearly always from a camcorded copy shot in a cinema.

Illegal download files are also taken from a camcorded copy and uploaded to the internet.