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Could we end up getting in trouble for downloading on this website? I figure that zonegfx operates legally, however, does anyone know how zonegfx manage to create a website like this without getting in trouble?
Thank you all!If your worried about minor software piracy then I suggest that it is well down on the list of net crimes the LEA are interested in. There's far too many other things going on like distribution of recent films and much, much worse stuff that people are doing to occupy their interest, considering that the software piracy thing is absolutely endemic on the net. Big fish like Kim Dotcom is still free after 20 years of trying to get him behind bars so us very little fish are most probably quite safe for the moment.... knock on wood.
Very great perspective. I was wondering, however, in the event that zonegfx were to be in jeopardy, would we as the users go down as well? Or would most of the legal blame be shifted towards the organization?
Most of the sites are hosted in places where US authorities have no influence, the Ukraine, ME, Russia eg. Russia is not about to cooperate with any US demands. So good luck with that. If zonegfx membership details like email/IP addresses are kept likewise and in a secure fashion and encrypted then we may be beyond reach. Personally as I never buy anything for sharing nor use anything for profit I'm a very small target and I don't see how I'm doing any harm to 3D PAs with DL stuff I would never buy anyway as it's only a hobby for my own renders. A US-based VPN isn't going to keep you safe as the authorities can demand data if they ever cared to do that. Not that it's very likely they'd do that for us minions, any more than the VPN users who use it to gain illegal access to region-restricted TV content they shouldn't have.
Incidentally, in most countries (including the US), simply downloading is not actionable - you cannot get sued for just downloading something. Now sharing can get you sued, but in most cases it's some small settlement at most, if the IP owner even bothers.
In most cases, and you'll see it occasionally, the creator/owner of the item will file a DMCA request with Mega (or whoever is hosting the download), and the item is removed from further downloading.
If by some weird bad alignment of stars they take down this site, the most they would do is shut it down. The data will be mostly worthless anyway, since most of us use a VPN to connect, so there's no connection of IP or email addresses to individual people (now if you were naïve enough to have tied your un-VPN'ed IP addy, real name, or email address or such to your account on this site...)
As Ethiopia comments, it seems like a joke ...
Daz Productions Inc., has about $ 8 million in revenue, despite having about 60 workers. Are they all developers or do they make "rags" for their figures? Let's be serious: A company is there to make money, not for charity and "love of art."
In the same way, Blender, which is also free, survives thanks to enthusiastic people who make plugins for its open source and people outside the company (...), but it cannot be said that they also live "for the love of art".
Not all people, unless you're a freelancer with a small team, can afford to get paid licenses like Autodesk Maya, 3ds Max, or MotionBuilder, which are really long-learning, professional tools.
However, there are people who for hobby or to earn some coins, or simply for "love of art", use Daz models. They also can't afford to spend $ 100 a month on assets ... (This world is based on capitalism ..., and thousands of Daz users can barely eat decent food around the world.)
Personally, I don't give a damn about costumes for such stupid visual impact scenarios: More than half is for testing and erasing.
That's where "piracy" is born: If you don't try it, you don't know if it's your size. If you like it, you buy it, but no one denies your right to try on a shirt or pants in a "real" store.
And in that, unfortunately, it even happens with, I don't know, a nightstand for your bedroom ...
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