Eric Eskam wrote:
But while it’s apparently illegal under the DMCA for a company to sell software facilitating the copying of a DVD by bypassing its encryption, Patel didn’t go so far as to say copying a DVD for personal use was illegal. Patel stated the dilemma thusly:
“[W]hile it may well be fair use for an individual consumer to store a backup copy of a personally owned DVD on that individual’s computer, a federal law has nonetheless made it illegal to manufacture or traffic in a device or tool that permits a consumer to make such copies.”
So backing up DVD's is still allowed under fair use - that has NEVER changed. But due to the wonderful digital millennium copyright act (DMCA), it's illegal to make a to make or distribute tools to do so. Our wonderful congress at work protecting us!
Excellent point, and the ONLY post I've read in this thread that is 100% true.
It IS NOT illegal to have or use "ripping software" per se, for personal copies of media you have paid for.
It IS illegal for anyone to sell or otherwise distribute said software, or to use it for distributing unauthroized copies of said media.
In spite of the MPAA's best efforts and the DMCA, there is still a plethora of "ripping" software out there, and it continues to be distributed (with or without being paid for) at ever increasing rate.
I was chastized in another thread for posting "And the MPAA still wonders why people continue to 'bootleg' movies."
People are nowhere near as dumb as the MPAA thinks we are.
When someone makes $140 million dollars off of a movie at the box office and then sells the five disc Blu-Ray pack a few months later for $49-$69, and they fully expect that people WON'T rip the movie so they can watch it on their laptop, iPad, or iPod without paying another $20 for an "official" digital copy... because it "takes money out of people's hands who deserve it"... that defies logic. I have yet to see a story ANYWHERE about all the starving people in the movie industry. Many of them were able to attend several $10,000 to $25,000 a plate political fundraisers last year. Paupers don't live like that.