Popcorn Time returns with new Community Edition fork

The MPAA may have had success in knocking out the most popular fork of the 'pirate Netflix' known as Popcorn Time, but as usual another fork has risen form the ashes.

The movie industry trade group managed to force PopcornTime.io development into uncertainly with lawsuits in Canada, forcing developers to back off. Other variants of the application were still available and working though, and efforts were made to force the PopcornTime.io application to work again.

Out of those ongoing efforts to keep that popular variant alive comes a new fork, Popcorn Time Community Edition (PTCE). It is parked at Popcorntime.ml, which provides downloads for the new PTCE fork for Windows, Mac and Linux.

The development team already lost two members due to legal action from Dutch anti-piracy outfit BREIN.

"We wish the two developers all the best and we really miss them, other than that we have no comment on that or the legal debate regarding this software," PTCE developers told the TorrentFreak site.

"Popcorn Time will probably never go away, despite the efforts made by organizations such as BREIN, the MPAA and others. Instead of fighting this great software they should embrace it."

And so the game continues.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 2 Dec 2015 22:56

PraisesToAllah

Sighs. Not this again...

3.12.2015 14:41 #1

fb2075

DO NOT USE POPCORN TIME!!!

It uses bit torrent which forces you to share what you're downloading and watching which can get you in legal trouble with the movie industry. There are many sites out there that stream virtually every movie ever including theatrical releases and you can't get in trouble for that since streaming isn't illegal.

3.12.2015 17:10 #2

ivymike

FIGHT THE POWER!!!!

Each year the greedy entertainment industry makes billions upon billions of dollars. It can afford to lose a million here or there from personal piracy IMHO.

3.12.2015 21:18 #3

Bozobub

Originally posted by fb2075: DO NOT USE POPCORN TIME!!!

It uses bit torrent which forces you to share what you're downloading and watching which can get you in legal trouble with the movie industry. There are many sites out there that stream virtually every movie ever including theatrical releases and you can't get in trouble for that since streaming isn't illegal.
Sorry, but that's technically false. If you don't own or license the rights, streaming content is exactly as illegal as downloading it in most countries. It just happens that generally, only the stream's source is easily brought up short; it's usually rather difficult to make a legal case against the recipient of the stream.

This means that watching a traditional stream is unlikely to get you busted, but sending out the very same stream can be risky, indeed, if you're doing so "under the table", so to speak. You'll find news articles every so often, of people being nabbed for merely indexing available pirated streams, much less broadcasting them themselves!

You are correct, however, in that Popcorn Time uses BitTorrent as the underlying protocol, and there certainly is some risk in using it. Quite frankly, when done properly, simply downloading a torrent of the content in question is likely safer.

Now, I'm NOT judging people who use Popcorn Time; I use BitTorrent quite often to acquire content of all sorts, much of which would likely not meet with *cough* "approval" of the RIAA/MPAA. But please, refrain from claiming other methods of violating intellectual property laws are any more legal, even though they're less enforceable.

4.12.2015 05:41 #4

LM2008

4.12.2015 06:43 #5

ilikefree

Originally posted by Bozobub: Originally posted by fb2075: DO NOT USE POPCORN TIME!!!

It uses bit torrent which forces you to share what you're downloading and watching which can get you in legal trouble with the movie industry. There are many sites out there that stream virtually every movie ever including theatrical releases and you can't get in trouble for that since streaming isn't illegal.
Sorry, but that's technically false. If you don't own or license the rights, streaming content is exactly as illegal as downloading it in most countries. It just happens that generally, only the stream's source is easily brought up short; it's usually rather difficult to make a legal case against the recipient of the stream.

This means that watching a traditional stream is unlikely to get you busted, but sending out the very same stream can be risky, indeed, if you're doing so "under the table", so to speak. You'll find news articles every so often, of people being nabbed for merely indexing available pirated streams, much less broadcasting them themselves!

You are correct, however, in that Popcorn Time uses BitTorrent as the underlying protocol, and there certainly is some risk in using it. Quite frankly, when done properly, simply downloading a torrent of the content in question is likely safer.

Now, I'm NOT judging people who use Popcorn Time; I use BitTorrent quite often to acquire content of all sorts, much of which would likely not meet with *cough* "approval" of the RIAA/MPAA. But please, refrain from claiming other methods of violating intellectual property laws are any more legal, even though they're less enforceable. You make some good points I would fail the test of what is deemed legal.
Bit torrent when used and setup correctly is relatively safe for downloading.
The comment above yours seems to worry about the uploading side of torrents, that is how they work, it is sharing, you take from some people and others take from you,you can set limits on how much you give or take. You can also tell the program to turn off after the download finishes, Just remember when using it, It is sharing that both gets you the file and passes it on to others.

shit doesnt just happen theres always an arsehole involved

4.12.2015 19:39 #6

ivymike

The Good Lord giveth and the Good Lord taketh away :-(

(website account is suspended)

5.12.2015 03:23 #7

ThePastor

In regards to the conversation here. I am not a lawyer.
But, you have two different "crimes" here.
"VIEWING" or "DOWNLOADING" content, and "SHARING" or "UPLOADING" content.
The two have VASTLY different laws regulating them as well as very, very different penalties.

It is a far different thing, to partake in an illegal download, or to make that download available to millions of others. Two different things all together.

Oh, Im sorry... Did the middle of my sentence interrupt the beginning of yours?

7.12.2015 20:40 #8

ivymike

Here's how I view filesharing:

A person takes a movie/song/software that he/she purchased, i.e. OWNS and wants to share it. His intent is not on making any profit. All he is doing is something Robin Hood would've done.

All people are doing who are downloading are accepting his invitation for a gift.

P2P is simply sharing. I don't see the comparison with shoplifting or robbery here.

7.12.2015 21:04 #9

hearme0

Originally posted by Bozobub: Originally posted by fb2075: DO NOT USE POPCORN TIME!!!

It uses bit torrent which forces you to share what you're downloading and watching which can get you in legal trouble with the movie industry. There are many sites out there that stream virtually every movie ever including theatrical releases and you can't get in trouble for that since streaming isn't illegal.
Sorry, but that's technically false. If you don't own or license the rights, streaming content is exactly as illegal as downloading it in most countries. It just happens that generally, only the stream's source is easily brought up short; it's usually rather difficult to make a legal case against the recipient of the stream.

This means that watching a traditional stream is unlikely to get you busted, but sending out the very same stream can be risky, indeed, if you're doing so "under the table", so to speak. You'll find news articles every so often, of people being nabbed for merely indexing available pirated streams, much less broadcasting them themselves!

You are correct, however, in that Popcorn Time uses BitTorrent as the underlying protocol, and there certainly is some risk in using it. Quite frankly, when done properly, simply downloading a torrent of the content in question is likely safer.

Now, I'm NOT judging people who use Popcorn Time; I use BitTorrent quite often to acquire content of all sorts, much of which would likely not meet with *cough* "approval" of the RIAA/MPAA. But please, refrain from claiming other methods of violating intellectual property laws are any more legal, even though they're less enforceable.

Bozobub, his/her orig statement was correct! Streaming is not illegal even if the content is unauthorized. Rather, I should say it's a gray area and receiving said "streams" is not legally enforceable.

While you're right saying that 'if you don't own the content then streaming is illegal.' but this conversation is centered around RECEIVING SAID STREAMS.

Your comment is unclear and misplaced.

9.12.2015 14:30 #10

Bozobub

No, it is not, it's the simple truth, at least in the US. In the EU streaming and downloading, of themselves, are legal.

In fact, more than once streaming sites have had their records seized, which will happen to include logs of incoming IPs often enough.

Now, it's a matter of civil (AKA "tort") law in the US, not criminal law, so this may be the source of your confusion. But when you are caught participating in any illegal sharing activity, your IP can be logged and served with a DMCA complaint. Four of these, and your internet is shut off (for a year, I believe) for most ISPs.

Now, the RIAA/MPAA has been a lot more circumspect lately, and hasn't generally been going ofter those receiving illicit streams, in favor of the more proactive response of trying to improve usage of legit venues, such as Spotify, Hulu, and other legal streaming sites. Frankly, it's been working, so they're likely to continue; it's also a lot cheaper in legal fees, although they still actively pursue cases vs. sources of illegal streams.

Handy article here (it's largely applicable for the US, as well).

Tl;dr? No, it's not legal in a good number of countries, nor is its legality never enforced, but current enforcement vs. individuals consuming illegally streamed (or downloaded) content is pretty unlikely. If, however, you live in the US, UK, or Canada, as well as many other countries, you're fooling yourself if you think it's legal. False security is not security, Q.E.D.

9.12.2015 14:54 #11

ilikefree

Originally posted by ThePastor: In regards to the conversation here. I am not a lawyer.
But, you have two different "crimes" here.
"VIEWING" or "DOWNLOADING" content, and "SHARING" or "UPLOADING" content.
The two have VASTLY different laws regulating them as well as very, very different penalties.

It is a far different thing, to partake in an illegal download, or to make that download available to millions of others. Two different things all together. To partake in an illegal download you are getting it from several file sharing people when you are using a torrent program

shit doesnt just happen theres always an arsehole involved

9.12.2015 21:36 #12

Bozobub

And the same in Popcorn Time, in fact; it uses BitTorrent.

9.12.2015 21:56 #13

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