[G4] Pioneer 107 and DVD media question

[Alex]

On Saturday, Jan 31, 2004, at 10:51 Canada/Eastern, Mel Krewall wrote:

>>> you cane use DVDBackup to copy a DVD video to the
>>> hard disc
>
>> In more than one country, the operation you describe is illegal.
>
> In the US (I don't know about Italy) it is legal and is called "Fair 
> Use".

Laws vary from country from country.

In the US, issues the doctrine of fair use, DMCA, and DVD copying are 
still sub judice. Whether the doctrine of fair use allows copying of 
DVDs is -- IMHO -- highly debatable (see 
<http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html>). My (uninformed) 
suspicion is that the issue will eventually have to be settled by the 
Supreme Court. Until then, some degree of caution is due.

In other countries, it is perfectly legal -- see, for instance, a 
recent decision of an Oslo appeals court. But even there, the issue may 
still be taken to the Hogsterett. In Canada, on the other hand, the 
issue appears to be debatable. The Copyright Board ruled that making 
copies for one's own private use is legal (even when one hasn't 
purchased the original!), but a footnote says that this applies _only_ 
to "sound recordings of musical works".

f