To Burn or Not To Burn

To burn or not to burn – these are the legal aspects surrounding the burning or copying of DVD movies. Well, a brief run-down anyway. Burning a DVD you have purchased for the purpose of having a backup is not illegal. Evading or breaking the encryption of a commercially produced DVD is illegal. Making copies of a commercially produced DVD then selling them on the street, Internet, wherever, is definitely illegal.

Most of the software available for purchase (and reviewed here) does not offer any of the circumvention techniques used by the movie-pirate set. Here are some terms and details to watch out for: CSS stands for Content Scramble System and is just one way Digital Rights Management (DRM) attempts to thwart illegal copying of DVDs and the use of illegally copied DVDs. DRM bypass is another example of an illegal though widely used circumvention technique.

DRM refers to technologies of access control implemented by the manufacturers of hardware and software, publishers and copyright holders to attempt to control the usage of their digital content and devices.

This term describes any technology designed to formidably discourage the use of unauthorized digital content (DVD movies, for example) and devices (iPhones, for example) DRM isn’t generally used to refer to other forms of copy protection that can be circumvented without modifying the file or device, for example, serial numbers or keyfiles.

The practice of digital rights management seems largely ineffective – anyone who wants to circumvent CSS on their DVD copies of all seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation can find the technology to make it happen. Advocates (mostly studios, manufacturers of hardware/software, or recording artists) argue it is necessary for copyright holders to ensure continued revenue streams and to prevent unauthorized duplication of their work “to maintain artistic integrity.”

Opponents consider DRM methods to be a form of anti-competitive customs.

In real life, all DRM systems (the widely used ones) have been circumvented and broken when deployed to enough customers. Restricting the copying of audio and visual material is especially difficult due to what’s called the “analog hole”, and there are even suggestions that effective DRM is logistically impossible for this reason but proponents keep trying and winning lawsuits as well.

The analog hole (also called the Analog Loophole) describes a vulnerability in noninteractive digital works (DVD movies, for example) that allows the digital work to be converted from digital to analog and back to digital and after that, it’s anybody’s game – it can be copied at will.

Which brings us to fair use doctrine. Fair use is the part of United States copyright law that allows a limited use of copyrighted material without the copier having to first apply for permission from the rights holders. As good old Wikipedia puts it, “fair use is commonly misunderstood because of its deliberate ambiguity.” This just means that the writers of the law meant for it to be confusing and lawsuit friendly.

From a harmless consumer standpoint, fair use assures that you can legally make one copy of a lawfully purchased DVD movie for personal backup.