Legal to make backups of movies I own?

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Boomslangnz

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Topic # 64690 20-Jul-2010 16:50

Hey guys

not sure where I ask this,but is it legal to backup dvds I own to a harddrive to play movies off media center?

thanks

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Reply # 354040 20-Jul-2010 16:53

Grey area..

It's legal to make back-ups but illegal to bypass any copyright protection on the discs, so in essence, you really can't do it legally.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.

savag3

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Reply # 354043 20-Jul-2010 16:58

Handsomedan: Grey area..

It's legal to make back-ups but illegal to bypass any copyright protection on the discs, so in essence, you really can't do it legally.

It isn't actually a grey area at all. S81A Copyright Act 1994 only allows copies for personal use of sound recordings not movies. Making a backup copy of a movie is illegal. This was raised when the legislation was passed but for some reason Parliament decided not to do anything about it.

freitasm

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Reply # 354044 20-Jul-2010 17:00

Correct. It's currently not legal to create copies (format shift) of digital movies, even for backup purposes. You are allowed to do so for music recordings.

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heavenlywild

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Reply # 354052 20-Jul-2010 17:15

freitasm: Correct. It's currently not legal to create copies (format shift) of digital movies, even for backup purposes. You are allowed to do so for music recordings.

So if you purchased a downloaded movie, you can make a backup of it on another drive legally as it is still in the same format?

freitasm

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Reply # 354065 20-Jul-2010 17:28

I doubt the law get even close to that - too complicated for the brains of those MP who voted...

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k1wi

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Reply # 354070 20-Jul-2010 17:40

I once heard a Industry Lawyer say that in buying a DVD, you don't buy the contents, rather you are buying access to the physical disk. I found that quite telling.

savag3

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Reply # 354085 20-Jul-2010 18:05

heavenlywild:
freitasm: Correct. It's currently not legal to create copies (format shift) of digital movies, even for backup purposes. You are allowed to do so for music recordings.

So if you purchased a downloaded movie, you can make a backup of it on another drive legally as it is still in the same format?

Depends on what the terms and conditions say. If they don't say you can make a backup copy then its illegal to make one.

xpd

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Reply # 354129 20-Jul-2010 19:27

Boomslangnz: Hey guys

not sure where I ask this,but is it legal to backup dvds I own to a harddrive to play movies off media center?

thanks

Legal ? No.

Is anyone going to come kick your door in, throw you to the ground handcuffed while your house is tossed for other backed up movies ? Very unlikely.

But INAL :-p Maybe they will one day....

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Rollux

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Reply # 354371 21-Jul-2010 10:15

^^

Unlikely to be prosecuted if you have the originals. But then how do you prove you have not distributed those "backups" via the internet? if you have any torrenting software or un-owned copies of movies/music in your possession you'd have no show of proving innocent of distribution.

I know what you are asking - I have my owned dvd's on my HDD for convenience. (and my 566 Cd's that i've just re-ripped to my drives)

2 weeks ago got rid of the 400gB of illegal music and movies I had. (Copies I'd ripped from friends cds or DVDs i'd hired from DVD store) I feel much better now and don't have to worry about being busted with illegal content. No torrenting/p2p software installed. If I want music I'll buy a CD (or occasional iTunes)

The hassle of doing a full reformat of all drives then reinstalling everything has taken a long time tho!

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buzzy

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Reply # 354917 22-Jul-2010 14:01

Handsomedan: It's legal to make back-ups but illegal to bypass any copyright protection on the discs, so in essence, you really can't do it legally.

As others have pointed out, it's actually illegal to make copies of copyrighted video works, without permission of the copyright holder.

However, I don't believe it's illegal to bypass technical copy(right) protection mechanisms in New Zealand. Audio works are a good example of this; you're legally allowed to make copies of audio recordings for personal use, even if the work is copyrighted. So if you purchase a copy-protected CD, you are quite legally entitled to bypass that copy protection for the purposes of making an copy of the audio recordings on the CD.

Of course, if you've agreed to a separate contract which restricts your rights to bypass some copy-protection software, then you may be breaking that contract. Apple, for example, may require you to agree not to attempt to bypass their copy protection on their downloads.

IANAL :)

elkano

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Reply # 357119 27-Jul-2010 14:14

An interesting update to copy protection in the US, maybe there's hope yet :-)

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/drm-dmca-jailbreaking-unlocking-iphone,10944.html

mattk

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Reply # 357124 27-Jul-2010 14:29

So, other than for video podcasts, all use of the video button on my ipod touch (soon to be iphone) is against the law....

freitasm

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Reply # 357126 27-Jul-2010 14:33

mattk: So, other than for video podcasts, all use of the video button on my ipod touch (soon to be iphone) is against the law....

If you format shift the movie yourself then yes, it's illegal. If you bought the movie from iTunes then it's ok.

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mattk

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Reply # 357129 27-Jul-2010 14:41

freitasm:
mattk: So, other than for video podcasts, all use of the video button on my ipod touch (soon to be iphone) is against the law....

If you format shift the movie yourself then yes, it's illegal. If you bought the movie from iTunes then it's ok.

Heck - i didn't convert it, it was that way when i torrented it.

</sarcasm>

The sooner we ditch physical media the better. Steam has completely changed the PC gaming market, we just need the big push to move other entertainment channels in the same direction.

freitasm

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Reply # 357132 27-Jul-2010 14:43

mattk:
freitasm:
mattk: So, other than for video podcasts, all use of the video button on my ipod touch (soon to be iphone) is against the law....

If you format shift the movie yourself then yes, it's illegal. If you bought the movie from iTunes then it's ok.

Heck - i didn't convert it, it was that way when i torrented it.

The sooner we ditch physical media the better. Steam has completely changed the PC gaming market, we just need the big push to move other entertainment channels in the same direction.

You have the option to legally buy movies from iTunes...

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