Copying DVD movies stand in a gray area of questionable legality. MP3s, CDs, cassette tapes, video tapes, films, and even gramophone technologies went through phases of legal questionably. All now are unquestionably legal to copy with some reservations. DVDs might also be legal to copy under some circumstances however these circumstances tend to be rare. So what are the right circumstances?
Well, if you legally own the material contained on the DVD, meaning that you recorded and produced it, you are in a good legal position to copy the DVD. But why are you in a 'good legal position' and not free to make copies? Suppose you make a home video on tape and have a company transfer it to DVD for you. That company might try to claim a copyright on the DVD. The company couldn't claim to own your content, but the menus and the file structure are legally theirs and they have the right to decide if copies can be made of them. You might be able to remove the video files of the content you created off of the DVD and create a new DVD from them. DVD copying and burning software like DVD Cloner V, CloneDVD, 1 Click DVD Copy, etc. will dramatically ease this process for you. Even if you hold the copyright to the material, you might find that the DVD was encrypted. An encrypted DVD means that the person that made the DVD put the files on it through a special process that restricts access to and the ability to make copies of the DVD. There are tools that can circumvent this process however they are illegal to use as they violate the patent of the companies that developed encryption process. This means that you wont be able to copy the content you created from a DVD legally. So if you hold the copyright for entire DVD and it is not encrypted, it is free to do what you want with. Otherwise move on to the next section. Also note that you don't need to submit your material to the copyright office to hold a copyright. That just makes it easier in case of disputes.
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For DVDs that some contain material, even if it is just menus, that you don't hold copyright to you might be able to still copy the DVD under fair-use laws. Fair-use laws apply to other forms of media that were already mentioned. Fair-use laws basically state that you are free to transform and alter any material you legally acquire as long as you respect the copyright of the owners, usually meaning don't make copies or derivative works and sell them, give them away, or otherwise make them available to others. Fair-use law is basically the legal structure that allows people to backup and archive their media collections and allow them to transfer their collections to different media. It is important to note that the general understanding of the law is that for you to legally hold a copy of the copyrighted work you need to own and have the original as well. However, if the DVD is encrypted, breaking that encryption is in violation of the patent. Most commercial DVDs are encrypted and therefore illegal to copy.
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movies,
dvd