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Is downloading TV shows off of the internet legal?

The answer is no. I've recently discovered that I could download TV episodes I missed from the internet. All you have to do is look up the name of the show and also type the word "bittorrent" in the search bar and you get results. Read more about it in my How to...section. This was great! But then I thought. Well, it's the internet and who knows what is legal and not. So I searched for the answer and this is what I found.

Time shifting

Many people in forums I read through to find out whether downloading TV shows was legal or not thought that downloading TV shows is legal because you are allowed to record your favorite show on your VCR at home and watch it later. You might even tape a show for you friend and lend the tape. If this is legal, well, why shouldn't downloading TV shows be illegal? Well it isn't legal. If you have ever taped a show and lent that tape to your friend, you did something illegal. Let me explain. Back in the 80's when Sony came out with the VCR Universal Studios sued them to try to stop the sale of VCR's. These companies were afraid that people would use the VCR to tape shows and movies off of the internet and then sell them for a profit. Sony, however was able to argue that this wasn't the case. In most cases, Sony said, people used the VCR to tape a show that they wanted to watch but were not able to watch it for some reason at the time it was being aired. This was termed time shifting and the courts decided that that was allowed. This is widely known as the "Betamax case". So they allowed the sale of VCR's to continue. However, time shifting is only for the purpose of private, non-commercial use which means you and not your friend. So from this becomes the downloading of TV shows off of the internet illegal because it was not you who was able to receive the show and recorded it so that you could watch it at a more convenient time. The person uploading the show then becomes one who is distributing the show and that is only allowed if you have the permission of those who created the show. It is not only illegal to upload it but also to download it.

But I don't live in the US.

And some of you may be wondering, "What if I don't live in the US?" or "What if I want to watch a show that doesn't air at all where I live?". Well it doesn't matter where you live because if it's an American company that created the show, it is protected under the American copyright law and so you are transgressing if you download it off of the internet. Britain also has eveything I've mentioned here about the American copyright law so there is no difference if you live in the US, Britain or want to download a TV show created by either of them.

Ridiculous

So basically downloading TV shows is illegal, but I think that's unfair in that there is no better alternatvie. For example I could understand that downloading music is illegal because I can just go and buy a CD in a store or from the internet. But if I miss an episode I can't just go and buy that episode to watch. I can't even technically borrow a tape from a friend. I would have to wait until they start selling the DVD set for the whole season a couple of months after it stopped airing to watch that episode I missed. That's just ridiculous. We're in the age when people want things yesterday. It's ridiculous for companies to expect us to wait that long.

The specifics

I don't know about the specifics. Like what if I owned a house with a TV in it in the US. And say that I have a maid there to record my shows in my computer. And then I have her send the files to me where I live in.. say Uganda. I suppose that would be legal? Or say I have a friend over at my house. And I remeber that I hadn't watched that episode of 24 I missed the other day. So I watch it at home with my friend. Is that illegal? Is watching it with a friend in my house illegal? Is the show I taped supposed to be for myself only? Because if it isn't illegal, then what would be the difference, with me watching it in my house with a friend, or me bringing the tape with me to a friend's house and watching it there. If any of you know the answer, please contact me.
I got most of my answers at this site.