Free music downloads and free movie downloads are yours for the taking on the Internet. They are easy to find, but if you want to stay legal you must know exactly what you are looking at.

Most of these websites advertise legal downloads but read the fine print which addresses the legality of these free movie and free music download sites.

After doing some research and visiting many of these legal free music downloads and free movie downloads websites, I have learned the truth and it is time for them to be exposed for what they really are; misleading, deceptive, illegitimate and just plain dishonest.

When visiting any of these download websites, it is not always easy to know what is legal and what is not.

Knowingly acquiring illicit downloads is theft. Whether you download from one of the many download websites or a website advertising download music for free online, you need to read the fine print first.

We have all heard the saying, If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. The majority of these sites are no exception.

Most people download from one of these movie download websites or sites advertising download music for free online without realizing the legality of copyright infringement. It is hard to tell right from wrong when there are hundreds and hundreds of sites that advertise 100% legal downloads. We would like to believe that these sites are, in fact, legitimate, just as advertised. Unfortunately, many of them only mislead you to believe that they are legitimate.

The advertising of legal is only partially true; therefore, it is dishonest.

* The software these sites provide to perform the download is legal. * Downloading on a peer-to-peer (otherwise known as P2P) network is legal. * The locations provided for the downloads are legal. * It is the act of downloading copyrighted material that is criminal.

We are attracted to these sites with advertising such as,

Download and share anything you want, anytime you want. Get unlimited access without annoying spyware and adware programs. We provide you access to the fastest and most reliable file-trading networks online. Millions are downloading! Now it's your turn! 100% Fun.

Or how about,

Pick all the movies you want and with a single click you can download them automatically. Best of all, you can download over 40 movies simultaneously. After a movie has finished downloading, you will be able to watch it right on your computer. You can also burn it to a DVD or Video-CD and watch it on your television using a standard DVD player.

Here is one of my favorites.

The best free music downloads, free movie downloads and an extensive download database - 100% Legal. This site has over 1 BILLION files including free music downloads, movies and much more...

But do not be discouraged. There are a few sites where you really can download movies and music for free.

There are even more sites from which you can download movies and music for a monthly membership fee or a small fee per download.

Just remember, it is not the act of performing the peer-to-peer download, but what you download. If it is copyrighted material, it is illegal to download without paying for it.

Read the fine print. If you can find the fine print, they feed you this garbage about downloading and sharing responsibly, etc., etc. In other words, do not get caught!

One of the more common disclaimers you will find on these scam sites reads like this:

Some information is protected by copyright, which means that you generally need the copyright owner's permission before you make it available to other P2P users. Popular music, movies, games, and software are often protected by copyright.

Or how about:

Click here for information on how to use this P2P software application to download music for free online and minimize or avoid copyright infringement.

The neat thing about a lot of these really, truly, 100% legal sites where you can download music for free, is that most of the music on these sites is from new artists hoping to get noticed by a record label. You can find some very good music if you are determined and just put forth a little effort in your searches.

Copyright infringement can result in significant monetary damages, fines and even criminal penalties. Some copyright owners have filed civil lawsuits against individuals that they believe unlawfully distributed large numbers of copyrighted songs. You can learn more about copyright laws at P2P United.

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Author and webmaster of Legal Download Advisor