Is LimeWire Illegal?

File sharing is one of my favorite topics, especially because of that (very) thin line between legal and illegal. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't enjoy having the authorities go through my files to see if what I downloaded is protected by some copyright or not, and that's why I like using file sharing programs and being up to date with the latest news in the field. I am not out for warez, but I know there's a lot of useful free content out there, waiting to be found.

Now, a very short file sharing history lesson... It all started with USENET, the first global file sharing network, followed by the first P2P-generation file sharing software, using the server-client approach. While Napster faced a lot of legal problems, went down and now is up again, using a pay system, LimeWire is probably the most notorious first generation file sharing program still having a free version. So... is LimeWire illegal, or not?

First of all, let's do this the easy way. Considering the number of habitable worlds in the Universe, it's simply impossible for intelligent life forms not to exist.
Obviously, the fact that - as far as the public opinion knows - we didn't manage to encounter them yet, doesn't mean they don't exist. Now, if we take into account the fact that LimeWire for Windows has been downloaded from CNET, not to mention additional source, over 150 million times, figure it out for yourself!

Don't worry, I won't leave you hanging in the balance, but please write a comment with your own opinion, I'm anxious to hear more about what you think. As for myself, here's what I think - just like with most file sharing applications, it doesn't depend on the program too much. It's the user, obviously. Is LimeWire illegal? Hell, no! Is it possible to download illegal content with it? Obviously, yes. After all, instant messengers, email services, the entire Web itself could be used for illegal purposes, don't you agree?

When asking yourself "Is LimeWire illegal," simply replace "LimeWire" with virtually any other file sharing program, instant messenger with file sending capabilities, and so on. It's not the tool, it's the user of that tool, remember that!

If you're asking yourself about the differences between the LimeWire versions available, I must say none of them is "warez-friendly" more than the Basic version, if I can say that. After all, the "workflow" is this - you download the program from the official LimeWire downloads page or any other reliable source, and you fire it up.

Now, if you are looking for "Ubuntu Linux" or "Hancock," that's nothing illegal. When you find various results for "Hancock," some of them related to "Hancock trailer," and others being like "Hancock.2008.R5.LiNE.XviD.SWESUB-KickFoot," and you download the later, that's "a bit illegal." In fact, it's 100% illegal!

I hope I made things clear, but I am sure we'll get back to this topic in the future, too. After all, is LimeWire illegal? Is BitTorrent illegal? Is Azureus illegal? There are plenty of questions to answer, but if you think well, there's only one answer - "depends on what you make of it!"