MPAA: Making a Single Backup Copy of a DVD is Illegal
MPAA: Making a Single Backup Copy of a DVD is Illegal
Posted 06/05/2009 at 6:39am
| by Paul Lilly
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Underscoring just how out of touch the Motion Picture Association of America is with its consumer base, the MPAA has spoken out regarding a buyer's (lack of) rights in making a single backup copy of a DVD. The comment came in response to a question raised bu U.S. District Judge Marilyn Patel, who during the RealDVD case, asked the MPAA if whether or not it believes it's legal for consumers to make backup copies of legally purchased DVDs for personal use.
"Not for the purposes under the DMCA," said Bart Williams, an attorney for the MPAA. "One copy is a violation of the DMCA."
And technically, he's right, at least in terms of circumventing copyright mechanisms to make said copy. But what's startling about the comment is that the MPAA has traditionally hid behind the threat of mass software piracy and the resulting lost sales in supporting the DMCA, but apparently you're no better than pirates for profit if you make a single backup copy of a DVD you already paid for.
"We believe the buyer has that right to play a DVD as many times as they want," Don Scott, one of RealDVD's attorneys, told Patel. "We think he also has the right to make a copy, this fair use copy."
So do we, Scott.
More like this
TodaysRant
June 25, 2009 at 9:21am
Any entity that states "you can buy another" has basically told me they no longer wish to do business with me. I do not support the MPAA in any way, shape, or form. I stopped buying DVD's for my kids to watch, after my 4 yr old scratched a $15 disc, not her first time, nor will it be her last. My kids can watch a movie at a friends house or I will check a disc out from local library for free. Let them incur the cost of kids scratching the DVD's.
I don't pay $8-10 to go watch a movie in the theaters.
I have gone from purchasing 8-10 programs/games a year to maybe 1.
If enough people start to follow the same practices, the MPAA will scream at the top of their lungs how they are losing $$$$$$ to pirates. My reply to the MPAA will be to hold up a mirror and tell the bastards to get a good look at the pirates!
ceegee
June 15, 2009 at 7:05pm
2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions.
A. This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Apple Software on a single Apple-labeled computer at a time. This License does not allow the Apple Software to exist on more than one computer at a time,and you may not make the Apple Software available over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time. You may make one copy of the Apple Software (excluding the Boot ROM code) in machine-readable form for backup purposes only; provided that the backup copy must include all copyright or other proprietary notices contained on the original.B. Certain components of the Apple Software have been or may be made available by Apple on its Open Source web site (http://www.opensource.apple.com/) (collectively the “Open-Sourced Components”). You may modify or replace only these Open-Sourced Components; provided that: (i) the resultant Apple Software is used, in place of the unmodified Apple Software, on a single Apple-labeled computer; and (ii) you otherwise comply with the terms of this License and any applicable licensing terms governing use of the Open-Sourced Components. Apple is not obligated to provide any maintenance, technical or other support for the resultant Apple Software.
C. Except as and only to the extent permitted in this License and by applicable law, you may not copy, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, or create derivative works of the Apple Software or any part thereof. THE APPLE SOFTWARE IS NOT INTENDED FOR USE IN THE OPERATION OF NUCLEAR FACILITIES, AIRCRAFT NAVIGATION OR COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, LIFE SUPPORT MACHINES OR OTHER EQUIPMENT IN WHICH THE FAILURE OF THE APPLE SOFTWARE COULD LEAD TO DEATH, PERSONAL INJURY, OR SEVERE PHYSICAL OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE.
SwordKnight
June 12, 2009 at 7:06pm
I'm gonna go back up a few DVD's now, thank you. These fuckers can shove it because I bought the DVD, I own it, not them. They are greedy assholes, that's all they are. Screw them!
i1patrick
June 07, 2009 at 10:49am
I remember years ago what a movie studio executive (from Paramount, I think) said when he was asked whether consumers should be allowed to make backup copies of movies they had already bought...
"If they want a backup copy, they can go to the store and buy another one!"
WTF?? I have young kids who are VERY hard on physical DVD media. It didn't take much convincing for me to look for a better way. Soon after that, I bought AnyDVD and have been making my own backups ever since.
gxc90
June 07, 2009 at 3:30pm
I am quite surprised the both the RIAA and MPAA forgot about the ruling from the landmark Sony vs. Universal Studios case. I am from Canada, and the government has been trying to pass similar laws as to copyright protection up here, but I have a niece that loves and I mean LOVES to eat DVD's, or that would be my nephew, when he gets hungry, anyways, Disney DVD's for cartoons range from $13-30 CDN funds ($22.43 US). making a backup saves money in the long run, plus teaches kids, hopefully, how to take care of their DVD's.
I wish Betamax was still alive.... :(
Havok
June 05, 2009 at 4:43pm
Wow. Not even 6 hours have gone by and 36 comments and counting!! This will be probably the most commented on article ever.
Screw those guys. I just got my PSP and I'm frackin' ripping my DVD collection to it. Oh and while I'm at it, I'll make .iso's of my Games and programs 'cause I don't like lugging 50 some odd discs to LAN parties.
Suck it Blues, I mean Reds, I mean MPAA!
OMGWTFBBQ
Wildebeast
June 05, 2009 at 2:04pm
Of course, it took a Judge asking them the question, in a legal proceeding, to get a direct answer.
(* sonsa$%#^$s!! *)
almhuss1
June 05, 2009 at 12:09pm
What Judge Patel ought to say:
"There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this country the notion that because a man or corporation has made a profit out of the public for a number of years, the government and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances and contrary public interest. This strange doctrine is not supported by statute or common law. Neither individuals nor corporations have any right to come into court and ask that the clock of history be stopped, or turned back, for their private benefit." -- Robert Heinlein, Life-line (1939)
Thundercracker
June 08, 2009 at 12:23pm
people need to be reminded this applies to the oil, automotive and banking industries too.
rob41
June 05, 2009 at 11:32am
I say we start a grass roots movement and boycot all legal purchases of any movie!
Oh, the movies will still be available to anyone who wants them as they always are, but boycotting the greedy movie industry will let them know who is really in control.
Although I would never......steal copyrited material, everyone know's about proxy servers, P2P's and burning software. Nothing new here.
So can I take about 100 music discs dating back to 1984 that my kids scratched up and send them back to the douchebags at the record companies for new ones?
The movie companies are whining because the laywers advise them there is more money to be squeezed from the people.
When I buy a piece of music, software, or a movie. I own that copy and I can back it up, transfer it to any of my devices future and present, and I can store it on any media of my choosing.
Everyone knows how easily media gets damaged and I'm not going to just be "out of luck"!
They own the rights for distribution etc. but when I buy it, I own the rights to do whatever I want with it as long as I don't sell it or distribute the material.
I don't care what the law or the pencil necks in the industry think they know!
Hey Bart Willams, and DMCA, kiss my ass!!!!!!!!
tomastaz
June 05, 2009 at 11:26am
Wow, that is too bad for you. I personally dislike apple, so I won't have to worry about stuff like that happening to me. This comment is for the dude who wasted $130 on OSX.
hbodek
June 14, 2009 at 2:26pm
when i buy 1 new copy of os x, i can put it on every single mac in my house. i dont need to buy a separate copy for every single computer i own.
Lestaticon
June 05, 2009 at 10:14am
It would be great if a number of people with resources (lawyers who want to make a difference) and regular citizens would band together and challenge these laws. They're not constitutional. Every year we give up more and more freedoms and privacy to big government, via corporate interests.
colinjm0517
June 05, 2009 at 10:24am
You are so right. If only they would do it. Every minute new ways to chip away our freedom are thought of and wrapped in a seemingly harmless package or in microscopic print.
colinjm0517
June 05, 2009 at 10:09am
Also, if this is true then 75% of the movies on my iPod are illegal (I converted them from DVDs). Making somone purchase one movie 5 times for five different gadgets (iPod, PSP, DVD, etc.) should be the illegal part.
Skroting
June 05, 2009 at 10:07am
So, if we only buy the rights to use the data on the media, can we then get a replacement media if the media gets damaged?
colinjm0517
June 05, 2009 at 10:13am
I wish. I bought a Mac os X 10.5.6 Leopard disc and it was scratched right out of the box. They wouldn't exchange it, and made me buy a new one [$130 x 2 = $260 spent ($130 wasted)]
Caboose
June 05, 2009 at 12:34pm
Why not just download a copy of OSX that matches your version. You've already paid money for it, consider it obtaining your backup copy!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
colinjm0517
June 05, 2009 at 10:05am
The more someone restricts something, the more it rebels. It is almost like the want us to pirate stuff. If they want to get rid of piracy, they need to loosen up their restrictions, or else people will rebel and pirate even more.
habuza
June 05, 2009 at 9:50am
Kiss my ass. I will back up my DvD's and CD's that I have purchased because I'm not paying those fuckers more than once for a CD or DVD I paid for already.
popstop785
June 05, 2009 at 9:34am
So ripping all my DVD's to a hard drive for streaming throughout my house is illegal? So what? They want us to revert back to old tech and use a flippin dvd played in every room? Why the hell would anyone limit their technology options like that? To hell with MPAA.
nekollx
June 05, 2009 at 9:44am
not only that but you would need to buy multiple copeps for all those rooms or use the old analog method of chaging the DVD manually.
BobbyPhoenix
June 05, 2009 at 8:44am
So if I understand correctly if you make one single back-up copy you are in violation, so when I do my weekly PC back-up, and it copies all my itunes cds and dvds (or whatever ones you may have) to my external HD, I just broke the law? I guess there are a lot more pirates out there than we think huh?
Tekzel
June 05, 2009 at 2:51pm
Nope. IF in making your backup you can copy the entire thing without circumventing the copy protection, that falls under fair-use and you can back it up all you want. However, with DVDs, you can't copy it without circumventing the CSS protection. If you do, you break the DMCA which seems to trump fair use, according to the jacklegs in the MPAA.
Caboose
June 05, 2009 at 12:07pm
Yar har, fiddle di dee, being a pirate is alright to be! Do what you want ‘cause a pirate is free, You are a pirate! Arr yarr, ahoy and avast, dinky-dink-dink-a-dinkadefast! Hang the black flag at the end of the mast! You are a pirate!
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
Denis63
June 05, 2009 at 8:39am
If you scratch your DVD, you go out and buy another.
That’s what the MPAA wants you to do! give them more money, so "we'll make it illegal for you to make backups so if your kids scratch your movies, you damned well better pay for another copy." stupid MPAA, they make it easy to pirate movies if it fucks them over.
Bravo_18
June 05, 2009 at 8:22am
If they want to make this more logical and acceptable to the consumers..they should first think of the medium ( CD / DVD / Blue-Ray Disk )...one that doesn't get to be SCATCHed, doesnt BREAK due to regular use and has the highest rating that it would last for 25 years...
People make back-ups of the movie they just bought because we just paid a lot of money for a collection of movies in CD's / Dvd's and when they get worn-out by the dvd players..what now?....Most of the legitimate consumer just want to protect their investment..
Ctrl-Alt-Del...Restart..
comptech08
June 05, 2009 at 8:17am
wow, well ima go make a few copies of one DVD now. I dont care what they say or what EULAs says once i buy it it is mine and i can do whatever with it I plz, except reselling the copies .
pastorbob
June 05, 2009 at 8:10am
As a former mastering engineer at a major compact disc manufacturing facility, I am not surprised to hear (and see - great picture by the way) that the MPAA still has their heads up their -- well you get the idea. The RIAA is just as bad if not worse. The company I worked for up until June 2004 tried to blame the plant closure in part on loss of sales due to piracy. One of the biggest black holes for revenue was investment in technologies to copy protect the audio discs and cdroms that we manufactured. Yet the bottom line numbers still showed us making a significant profit in spite of the downward trend in overall sales worldwide, even up to the day we ceased production. In the end it was poor choices made by corporate level management that brought about the demise of our facility.
Anyhow, I digress. What it al boils down is greed. The MPAA and RIAA both want to force consumers to buy additional copies of the media so as to increase total sales and profits. The DMCA was rammed through Congress by their lobbyists in order to help acheive that goal.
The ability and right to copy digital media for backup purposes is not the problem. But just like any good tool there are those who would abuse and misuse it. However, trying to eliminate the tool is not the answer any more than banning guns will stop murders or making alcohol illegal stopped alcohol related problems.
nekollx
June 05, 2009 at 8:32am
amen, if we went by that logic we would have to ban kitchen knives (how many of those were used in murder), ice picks, and screwdrivers!
frizzly
June 05, 2009 at 7:50am
arrg, where is me sword? matey.
Frizzly Mejere "Once you go down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny."
Cache
June 05, 2009 at 7:49am
Personally, I'm waiting for them to start charging 'per use' of a DVD or CD, using the logic that we are only allowed to rent the movie despite the fact that we bought it. Trust me, they are already trying to figure out a way to make that work.
Nevermore26
June 05, 2009 at 2:32pm
It was called DIVX, or Digital Video Express. (Not to be confused with DivX.) Nearly bankrupted Circuit City long before they actually went bankrupt. It came out about the same time as DVD, and was a scheme set up by CC & some lawyers to try & charge you every time you watched your disc, unless you paid some ridiculous price up front that was much higher than what standard DVDs cost. Thankfully, it failed. Unfortunately for all those people who bought in to it, their discs became unwatchable after they shut the service down.
Dave
"My fake plants died because I did not pretend to water them." - Mitch Hedberg
Caboose
June 05, 2009 at 8:06am
And once they do, movie and music piracy will increase a hundred-fold. And the MPAA/RIAA will be confused and wonder why people are pirating movies and such instead of constantly having to pay to watch them.
-= I don't want to be dead, I want to be alive! Or... a cowboy! =-
colinjm0517
June 05, 2009 at 10:17am
If that did happen then they will make more restrictions and people will then pirate more and then the cycle starts again infinately. It is a self-destructing never-ending vicious cycle and must be stopped by loosening up restrictions on the DMCA and other copyrights. Copyleft is King
nekollx
June 05, 2009 at 10:20am
at which poitn the MPAA colapses in upon itself as people freely torrent bookleg videos taken in the thereate or off their tv because simple buying the DVD comoes with a "owner's rental fee" and a "per view fee" and a "per media fee"
mesiah
June 06, 2009 at 3:05am
Unfortunately I think most of the human population is too damned lazy to find elaborate ways to fool copyrighting. So in the end, unless the government fixes things DRM will probably achieve its goal of making sure the average person is totally screwed when it comes to things like backing up content or making it portable. And the same people that steal content now will continue to find ways to steal and nothing will really change when it comes to piracy. The regular joe will get shit on and the true criminals will still be going about their business.
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