What is and is not legal WRT copyrighted downloads?
Say Daniel finds a copyrighted work (say something mainstream like a Mariah Carey album) on a site such as Mediafire and downloads it. He does not share it any further than that, and he does not use a tool that automatically re-distributes the file, such as a torrent downloader. What civil and/or criminal infractions occurred?
I presume the original uploader is to some extent guilty of civil copyright infringement.
Mediafire’s legal position is murky, since while they did not condone the use of their tool, they do support it.
Would Daniel, as the end downloader, be guilty of any legal infractions? Keep in mind he does not distribute any files – he only receives them.
I have read through the wikibook on US copyright law (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/US_Copyright_Law), and am still unsure.
Please provide sources, if possible.
First, you’re confusing civil and criminal law. There’s no such thing as being “guilty of civil copyright infringement.” Guilt/innocence is a concept of criminal law. You can’t be found guilty in a civil action.
That being said, the basic concept of copyright infringement is simple. If you use a copyrighted work without permission, then you are infringing on copyright. For the most part, copyright infringement is a private, civil action. Copyright infringement does not become criminal until certain conditions are met.
I suggest you start your research by reading Title 17 of the US Code, which codifies US copyright law. In particular, I link to Chapter 5 below which discusses copyright infringement.
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html
As a friendly suggestion, any time you begin researching about a legal issue, you should start with actually reading the law (e.g., relevant statutes and case law). Summaries like wikibooks should only be used as a secondary source, if at all. In some (maybe many) cases, these secondary sources are incorrect.
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The case is not altogether commendable.