> Not in any country that is part of the big international IP agreements (Berne convention, Paris Act).

Poland signed Berne convention in 1919, has "well regulated" copyright, but still downloading all media (except for software) for personal use is fully legal. Tax on "empty media" is in place as well.

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Mindwipe 7 hours ago | parent [-]

No it isn't.

Format shifting and personal copying are legal in Poland, but you as an individual still have to have legally obtained your original in the first place to exercise that right, and an illicit download certainly doesn't count. Taxing "empty media" is to compensate for those format shifting rights, but it doesn't cover renumeration for acquiring media in the first place (and indeed no EU member state could operate such a scheme - they are prohibited by EU Directive 2001/29 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=celex%3A...).

	▲	scotty79 2 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Yes it is. As long as the content was intentionally distributed by rights holder (for example a movie had it's premiere) you can legally download it from anywhere and use it for your own (and your friends) enjoyment. You can't make it available to people who aren't your actual friends (random people on the internet). That's the Polish law, both the letter and the implementation. Again, it covers everything except for software that has more restrictive laws more similar to what you think the law is. Tax on empties was set up long time ago to support creators who's music is shared among friends directly. It's was not intended to compensate for downloads.
	▲	darkwater 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> Format shifting and personal copying are legal in Poland, but you as an individual still have to have legally obtained your original in the first place to exercise that right, and an illicit download certainly doesn't count. Like everywhere else where personal copies are legal and you can download them. If both conditions are true, then the mere fact that you are downloading it, it's not a sign you are downloading pirated content. OTOH there is also Spain where piracy with no direct monetary gain is tolerated and nobody goes after people torrenting.