Question: Is it illegal to download foreign items that is not licensed in United States?
Answer:
It depends. Federal copyright laws (such as 17 U.S.C.A. §§ 102, 103) in the United States govern original creative work such as music, lyrics and other written work, sculpture, architecture, and more.
These laws also extend to foreign works under certain circumstances. For example, according to 17 U.S.C.A. § 104 if the work was published in a country that the United States has a treaty with, the work will be protected by U.S. copyright law .
Because copyright law is very complex, you may want to check with an attorney before downloading foreign creative work that you do not have a license for.
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