Is It Legal to Copy a DVD?

Reader Comments
Back to article

So it isn't illegal to copy a DVD and keep it for your own? I think no.

KL of MD 2:06PM April 28, 2012

i look for movies these days with the digital copies and love them so much and of course under the fair use act i put several of them onto a disc - to back them up but its just for me as they take up too much space on the hard drive -
digital copies i think could be the wave of the future but sure are steep on itunes - almost as expensive as the disc
would i would like to see is the ability to purchase a movie online and be able to back it up on disc - yeah like a digital copy except you could play it in a dvd player
cases sure do take up alot of space - blank discs dont however alot of my purchases have to to do with the cover art too
if only there could be a site where you could be purchase the movie with the ability to put it on a blank disc - like digtal copies except no expensive - like a subscription service - or pay by the movie lets say 3.00 -5.00 per movie and up to 2 downloads in case the first one is a bust
just a suggestion

kat of TX 3:13AM September 01, 2011

if only both sides could meet in the middle - or where the movie studios would get a cut in all that software out on the internet -i know a guy in arizona who does this but i dont think his intent is to break the law - its out of the price is just astronomical - why not have the movie studios and these software companies that develop "rippers" as i think wikiepedia calls them - coz if its money they are after - then why not let the two work together - if hollywood knows that people do it - why not try to profit themselves of the rippers or come up with a ripper of their own to where the user would pay the studio a fee each month - for their titles - yeah just a thought and no i dont work for either side
why is it that in the end it always comes down to money

kat of TX 3:03AM September 01, 2011

a friend has died and left dozens and dozens of copies of dvds. these are illegal copies, btw. what should we do with them? is it wrong to give them away? should we just throw them in the trash?

stephanie of MA 7:01PM August 20, 2011

Most people have no interest in "stealing" as the movie studios call it. If given a legal way to do what they are clearly wanting to do which is copy their movie so they can watch it on their media center, PC, iphone or ipad, then they would stick with the legal method. For those a little tech savvy they go to the "illegal" means because that is the only choice they are given. I know a lot of companies are starting to add digital copies to their disc, but my limited experience with these, manly from Warner Brothers, leaves a lot to be desired. You have to have their software to watch the content, yet you can drop the MP4 on your Iphone without a hitch?
I wrote more about this on my blog
http://blog.reddwarfmedia.com/?p=326

Steven of TX 4:10PM June 28, 2011

it does seem as though the high prices for CD's make it a temptation to rip or burn a copy from a friend, but that doesn't mean that we are justified in doing it simply because we want the companies to sell for less. The price they set is their prerogative. By virtue of the artist or record label having invested into the production of the CD they have the exclusive right to set the price for it. After all, it is their property. This may result in the consumer being less likely to buy, depending on the cost, but that is the artists business to deal with. Perhaps the peoples unwillingness to pay higher prices will lead them to get the music illegally, but is that justified? I don't think so. Just because someone would prefer to get something for a cheaper price does not warrant theft. Certainly the public could influence artists and producers to sell for less, but stealing doesn't have to be the avenue through which this is done.

JB of MI 4:22PM May 29, 2011

I produce a CD in the U.S. for 06 years is copyrighted 05 years in contract one year after a record from Brazil recorded a song on this cd and sued me in court I could not sell any cd, my company went bankrupt, can hold 5000 thousand CDs with permission from the Brazilian justice system, but so far not getting anywhere because justiceseems to me to fear the MK Publicitá because of an owner at the time was a congressman,this is already 06 years do not know what else to do ,seek my money the force?
tanvéz be a way out, because the laws here in Brazil are bought judges etc.
help me please some lawyer from the USA and my company American this product also American, the name of my company is Mananacial Christian Stores Inc, is registered in Boston MA
I've lost everything I'm looking disoriented take justice into their own hands to help me.
Respect nothing they DO still sell this CD never bear to sell need help.
Aderito Dutra Maciel

Aderito Dutra Maciel of MA 7:37PM March 19, 2011

I agree that the artists should have a reward for their skills, in music or film. However, the recording companies and the artists, all want to be instant millionaires. We all know that CDs/DVDs are VERY inexpensive to produce... AOL proved that by giving them away in the mail to EVERYONE! Plasma TVs were $5K when they came out, now you can buy them for next to nothing. CD/DVD prices haven't dropped as production costs dropped because the artists and record/film companies have just added more to profit margins. Here, Wal-Mart has become the largest retailer ever by selling LOW and in mass amounts. If the cost per CD/DVD were reduced to an affordable price... say $5.95, instead of the $19.95 they ask... there would be far less copyright theft, most P2P sites would disappear, and people would buy many more CDs/DVDs. In an economy where entertainment budget gets eaten up horribly fast (just take your kids to the ballgame and see) and the cost of cable TV skyrockets, people would rather download a work than pay full price. If the artists reduced their huge fees and they fired all the copyright attorneys, the CD/DVD could be reduced to a price that anyone could afford. Why can you go to a discount store and buy a DVD for $5.00. It's the same movie that was $19.95 a year ago... production costs didn't change... but the production company found they weren't selling anymore at the high price so, wow, amazingly it comes down. (Buyers should just refrain from buying the NEW movie and wait til it hits the bottom price.)
Software manufacturers also complain about lost revenue due to copying... but remember, if you buy a program for a huge price, and want to put it on both of your home computers, they say you are stealing from them... they want to charge you an inflated price for each of your computers. Here again, if software programs were priced at $19.95, instead of 4 times that amount, people wouldn't download pirated versions. (Some programs are priced at astronomical dollar amounts.) There are countries and companies now opting for OPEN SOURCE software to keep costs down. (I'd kind of like to see Bill Gates at the Goodwill store just once!)
The overall theme here seems to be.... If you want people to stop downloading media and software, then get down to a price that is fair to the consumer, and the consumer will be more apt to buy it.
Unfortunately the cure is always too simple for corporate to get.

Phil Schack of IL 3:48PM January 31, 2011

the solution to the concerns of the studio's regarding profit is so simple that it is a wonder that it has not been enacted:
Charge 1.00 for a movie plus shipping. any movie. at that price, the consumer would collect vast numbers. rather than rent. rather than copy. rather than borrow. the studio's would reap larger profits as (in my estimation) they would sell at least 10 times as many films as they do now. renting would be a thing of the past. retailers could charge a profit for handling (much like a candy bar) and everyone would have very large collections.
as it is, the plastic coating on discs is so inadequate that you don't get to handle the disc many times before it dies of scratches. even dragging your finger as softly as you can manage across a disc will leave a scratch from the surface of your skin. this is intentional on the part of the studios. they specify discs that will provide the shortest life possible.
give the consumer a chance. use a better disc, and sell them cheap enough that everyone will buy and there will be no incentive to steal, borrow, rent or copy.
alternately, they could just charge about 200million per disc and only sell one, and not worry about copying. this approach is as stupid as charging so much for disc that copy becomes inevitable.
by the way, the cracks for hd discs were out a week before the hd discs were released. it seems that even the employees of the encryption providers could not resist breaking the system they were employed to create.

mark evans of CA 5:51PM December 26, 2010

I see a lot of people making the claim -- as this article does -- that ripping a CD for personal use is legal. Generally those same people, when pressed, will make vague noises about the Sony betamax case. It seems to be commonly assumed that Sony legalized format-shifting.
But the Sony case was about time-, not format-shifting, and there seems to be a dearth of actual court decisions making that connection. Can anyone cite one?

Nathanael Culver of WI 8:35AM August 30, 2010