Unlimited Wii Downloads: How Can They Be Legal?

A few years back, the file sharing industry was revolutionized by a little company known as Napster. Since that time, all types of file sharing services have been popping up all through the Internet.

Nowadays, you can often find various Nintendo Wii Download sites that are becoming very popular. As more and more high speed connections, on the Internet, a new dimension has occurred in the niche of file sharing. It is no longer the simple music sharing files that were the fore bearers of today's file sharing. Currently, file sharing includes various media styles and includes such items as software, videos and even video games.

Introduction

In late 2006, when the Nintendo Wii was first introduced, there were just a few games that could be played on it. Since that time, there have been a plethora of Wii games developed and put into the market.

With that very innovation, the development of Wii software sharing networks have come about. What many people wonder about these new file sharing sites is whether or not they are legal. With all the controversy over Napster, a few years back, people are often hesitant to indulge in the Wii download craze.

Recently, there have been a lot of legal precedents that seem to establish a certain ambiguity about whether or not theses Wii files sharing sites are actually illegal. That very ambiguity is the reason why so many are using the sites that, though not entirely legal, cannot really be shut down. So, now the question arises, "Isn't it illegal to share files?"

Legal Issues

Well, the short answer is "yes", but it's also "no." Confusing, isn't it? Ok, you see there are a few things that must be considered. For one, the actual file sharing network structure must be such a way that it resists specific liabilities.

If we attempt to explain that in depth, we could write a book so let us just suffice it to say that the way the network is set up will be a big factor in determining legality...so far. There is not as much furor and excitement as there used to be in regard to file sharing. You may have noticed that. If not, just look around. Do you notice a lot of news about file sharing these days? I thought not. So, let's explore why this is.

The courts have been quite full of lawsuits that have involved file sharing companies like Morpheus and Kazaa, some very well known file sharing outfits. With each case there arises a new precedence and many of these new precedents have concluded that the actual software that is used to exchange files is not illegal. So, naturally, this makes it very difficult to punish a user of this software.

It all boils down to the difference in how the original software worked and how the modern software, that replaced the illegal stuff, works. Ok? You keeping up?

The Initial File Sharing Software

You see, when Napster originally developed and used it's file sharing software, their network architecture was such that there was a central server that accounted for and was the collector and distributor of all the song files.

When a song was requested, the central server responded by resending various reference lists of places in which the subscribers could actually download the desired music files.

Since Napster owned the server and it was a Napster asset and it was used in each of the searches, it was determined that they were actually an active part of the file sharing process. Thus, Napster became the distributor of copyrighted material. This made Napster liable. This was to eventually lead to their downfall. It also led to a complete redesign of request and distribution software and a new generation of file sharing that resulted in the contemporary Wii downloads file sharing systems.

What Has Changed?

You see, there is an illegal way to share files, which Napster found, much to their chagrin, and a legal way to do it. The big difference is that the legal Wii download sites are now operating by simply decentralizing their file sharing networks. So this means that the files are no longer distributed and collected in one centralized server.

They now use many various servers to accomplish the same act. Each subscriber's computer must have separate software installed in it and by doing such, the file sharing system uses it's subscribers as the separate servers rather than the one central company server.

In this way, the central network difficulty is resolved. The courts have ruled that there is no illegality in this type of file sharing network. The development process for all the Wii download sites has utilized the new decentralized technology and thereby, all of the Wii download file sharing sites have become 100% legal.

Can You Protect Yourself?

It is not really the downloading of files that causes legal problems for most people. Rather, it is when folks share tremendous amounts of files with others that causes the problems. If a person shares humongous amounts of files with other people, it is their IP address that is cited as the distributor of those files and that means that you're using a centralized computer for distributing files.

THAT is illegal. If that is the case, how does one actually remain legal and safe with the Wii download files?

Simple: All one must do is to disable the file sharing capability or take your downloads and move them to a separate folder.

Most Wii downloads are downloaded to a temporary folder so once the download is complete, if the file is to a separate folder, it is protected. It is necessary that one not only copy the files but actually "cut" them from the temporary folder so that it appears as though they were deleted. In this way, it is assumed that you are not going to be sharing those files.

It is easy to avoid problems as long as one simply uses these precautions. The real advantage is that you will no longer need to pay out so much cash for new Wii games.

Many sites will allow an unlimited number of downloads for a one time membership fee. This is a bargain at any level. You can buy one Wii game at a time and pay upwards of $40 each or you can pay a membership fee of around $50 a month and get unlimited downloads. The choice should be obvious.

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