Ok,i use to copy dvds using my laptop. and i do see all the WARNING signs at the beginning of dvds. Is it only illegal if u profit off of a dvd-r or watever,and if it was really illegal then why do they still selling blank DVDS or cds at stores?

dance4me3121 said:

there are people who want to copy home/personal videos/pictures to dvd. unless you have a program that allows you to burn/rip dvd's it won't matter

It's called Fair Use Act. Cassettes and VHS tapes came under that fire in the early 80's. Clint Eastwood was one on the bandwagon of saying it was wrong. Laws were passed for a fair usage, meaning you own a copy and you have a right to copy it once if needed for some reason (like owning a record to play in your car stereo player - same with CDs).

There were recent arguments about copying it digitally and having it on your computer or portable media player. In fact, Sony, and others, wanted you to delete their CD from your hard drive, if you ever sold or gave away the CD. Example: You bought and ripped a copy of P!NK's latest CD to your harddrive, so you can take it to the gym. Two years later, your niece loves the CD, and you decide, "Oh well I have it digitally since I ripped it to my computer, I'll give her the CD." Sony would say, "You don't own the CD anymore, so you can't have a digital copy of it left on your computer. Erase it!" It's a ridiculous idea. At one point Sony was illegally trying to install some sort of software on PC users computers when the user inserted the CD to rip it. Mac users (of course) caught it because most times on a Mac, you have to enter your user password for any program to install or update itself. Sony said they'd stop doing it, but CDs with the malware were still being distributed.

I said all that to say record companies and the movie industry is DESPERATE in trying to control what you own, how you use it, and how you dispense of it, so it's best to be on your toes with things. Answers won't fully come on prince.org. Go to a wikipage, or other places to find solid answers as well.

My question is - why do you need to copy a DVD? Are you creating a digital copy to watch on your laptop, iPod, etc? Are you copying it to give to someone, cuz that might not be kosher, per se.

dance4me3121 said:

Possessing the product is profiting. Just because you are the only one profiting doesn't mean it isn't profiting.
Why not sell blank CD's and DVD's?
They don't have to be used for illegal downloading do they?
They don't fill themselves with illegal product once they are purchased.
People use(d) notes in bank robbers but would you ban paper because it can be used for illicit purposes?

Yes it is illegal to copy DVD's... but does anyone care ?... no.....that's unless you're uploading them to the internet / sharing / selling them.
[Edited 2/24/10 20:51pm]