Anyone know about DVD copying and the law?

[Davek0974]

Just a general grey area it seems, scenario....

I have a massive DVD library, over 550 titles at present, technology has given me the ability to rip the films from the disc and have the entire library on my system at fingertip control so no more scratched disks or searching for that film that you were sure you knew what shelf it was on but....

Anyway, being fairly conscientious, I am aware that downloading media is not on and that is why I have all my stuff on disc. It seems generally accepted that you are allowed to make one extraction for personal use only and as a backup for safety, indeed it seems the industry is relaxing its copy protection systems in order that this can be done.

Now, where do i stand if I have my copy stored on computer and then give the disc away to say a family member? Or let's say I have my discs stored in the loft and they all get ruined by some disaster?

In both instances I no longer hold the physical disc but I did own it before. Of course there are no receipts as the collection took years to build, do I need to hold the discs forever?

Note that I said give them away not sell them too.

This is sort of one of those pub type argument questions but my reasons are genuine

 

[Cylon]

Tricky one and haven't got the time to Google it so this is just an opinion, I would presume copying a DVD for your own use is fine even though your would have to break the copy protection (macromedia etc) on the disk, this isn't difficult and there are free programs on the interweb thingy to do this for those who know where to look.

The issue arises if you pass this copy on to someone else, free or paid for makes no difference as the licence will only cover individual private use and not distribution of any kind.

For the sake of a pub argument I would say, copying for personal use = fine, copying for other peoples use=dodgy.

But you are giving the disk away so in essence you are also giving away your rights to the disk in which case even though you have purchased the DVD and the individual licence you have lost this right by giving it away.

That said this is such a grey area that i doubt you would find yourself in trouble for it, especially as the industry has bigger fish to fry, e.g Django. The Impossible etc where out on DVD/HD quality rips before they where even in the cinema in the UK so I'm reliably informed...

 

[Paul_Rosser]

The law has only just been changed to allow the ripping of CD/DVD's. (see below).

http://www.zdnet.com/uk/cd-ripping-to-be-permitted-following-uk-copyright-reform-7000009127/

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/news/2233152/sweeping-changes-to-uks-outdated-copyright-law-announced

The ripping can also be done by a 3rd party on your behalf, as with the new amazon system. When you purchase a CD you get the MP3 version straight away with the CD arriving by post a few days later.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2235663/amazon-autorips-shoppers-cds

In both your examples as you no longer hold the physical disk then you would have to remove the digital copy from your computer. However with the disks in your loft example you would claim on your house insurance and get replacements.

The reason the industry is relaxing it's copy protection systems is because they simply don't work, coping a DVD/Bluray which has "protection" is so easy there is little point in companies spending money on it.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

That said this is such a grey area that i doubt you would find yourself in trouble for it, especially as the industry has bigger fish to fry, e.g Django. The Impossible etc where out on DVD/HD quality rips before they where even in the cinema in the UK so I'm reliably informed...

Don't forget Les Miserables....as it's Oscar seasons high quality versions of the movies up for awards get sent to the judges, often before they have even opened in the cinemas.

These get ripped by someone and end up on (usually) torrent sites, you can tell when this is the case as the movie will ocassionaly have "for your consideration" appear on the screen.

 

[Cylon]

Oh yes Les Miserables the DVD screener, OMG we are all at it

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Oh yes Les Miserables the DVD screener, OMG we are all at it

Piracy is very naughty indeed, so should not be condoned.

However with wireless security being so easy to crack it is fairly easy to do using a neighbours connection.

 

[Maxwell83]

Why not make your backups, and then 'store' your discs at the family member's house without giving them away.

 

[Davek0974]

Why not make your backups, and then 'store' your discs at the family member's house without giving them away.

It wasn't so much the storage but the thought that I would never need to use them again and they have a limited shelf life, quite long but limited.

In the loft it is then

 

[Paul_Rosser]

It wasn't so much the storage but the thought that I would never need to use them again and they have a limited shelf life, quite long but limited.

In the loft it is then

Whilst DVDs do degrade over time, provided you have the original disk, no matter how readable it is, then you will be legit with a digital copy.

 

[eventdomain]

I doubt the film copyright owners will chase you - chasing the odd individual who downloaded it onto their personal PC for personal use?

Copyright has always been about nailing those who distribute - not the curious online viewers that frequent the video upload sites. It seems the law can be complicated, we have the video sites where you can upload films, but does this mean actual distribution, I mean the films aren't actually being distributed are they - its simply beng housed on a single website for viewing.

Woulldnt have a clue where UK law stands on this, but many upload sites are doing it without fear of breaking laws, as they just provide links to the various upload sites. Can any legal people confirm this...

One site got closed down for providing links to the upload sites - but that's not distributing the films, its just linking to another website.

 

[Paul_Rosser]

Woulldnt have a clue where UK law stands on this, but many upload sites are doing it without fear of breaking laws, as they just provide links to the various upload sites. Can any legal people confirm this...

One site got closed down for providing links to the upload sites - but that's not distributing the films, its just linking to another website.

Which is why Bittorrent is so popular as the files don't need to actually be uploaded to anywhere.

It all works via P2P so no server is required and all the person downloading needs is the tracker information.

Also whilst they are downloading they are also uploading to other downloaders.

 

[Davek0974]

I've never tried torrent as our internet is so poor it just wouldn't handle it. I do know those that do, our son uses it for tv-series downloads but they generally get watched then deleted. I dont think the law is the same for tv series as they are freely distributed anyway, again another grey area.

For the moment, i'll stuff the dvd's in the loft but i'll also keep a printed list of the library with my documents just in case, useful to know what we had if they do get lost.

And yes i too believe there is a world of difference between a single person having a copy of a film (even if they don't own the media any more) and another that copies it many times and sells it on for profit - maybe distinction needs to be made in these two areas?

 

[Paul_Rosser]

I've never tried torrent as our internet is so poor it just wouldn't handle it. I do know those that do, our son uses it for tv-series downloads but they generally get watched then deleted. I dont think the law is the same for tv series as they are freely distributed anyway, again another grey area.

For the moment, i'll stuff the dvd's in the loft but i'll also keep a printed list of the library with my documents just in case, useful to know what we had if they do get lost.

And yes i too believe there is a world of difference between a single person having a copy of a film (even if they don't own the media any more) and another that copies it many times and sells it on for profit - maybe distinction needs to be made in these two areas?

The law is exactly the same for TV series and in fact a number of US television firms have gone after torrent users who download their stuff.

One of the issue with bittorrent is that when you are downloading you are also sharing, so some copyright holders start a download of their own material off, log all the IP's which are sharing it and then get court orders for the ISP's to hand over the full details.

There is of course software which will stop you sharing with known IP addresses which use this course of action, but unless you know about it then most people don't and can get caught.

 

[Davek0974]

The law is exactly the same for TV series and in fact a number of US television firms have gone after torrent users who download their stuff.

One of the issue with bittorrent is that when you are downloading you are also sharing, so some copyright holders start a download of their own material off, log all the IP's which are sharing it and then get court orders for the ISP's to hand over the full details.

There is of course software which will stop you sharing with known IP addresses which use this course of action, but unless you know about it then most people don't and can get caught.

Very interesting, thanks for that.