Quote
Originally posted by: Starboy
As for bootlegging, it appears we have some legal counsel on the forum. Digitalman, am I right in stating that you are allowed to own backup copies of media which you have paid for? i.e. I can rip mp3's of songs when I own the album? So if I own the VHS version of the "faces" release, isn't it legal for me to obtain that same material in a different format? I have paid for the rights for personal use of the movie. Honest question, not a challenge.
The answer to the first question is yes, to a degree. Depending on which jurisdiction you live in, you can make 'fair use' copies of material you own. As to the question about obtaining the 'faces' release in a different format, you could make copies of these to DVD-r, if you really wanted to, but they'll look atrocious. If you want to obtain copies made from a laserdisc master though, that's a different kettle of fish.
Personally, I live in Canada where (for the time being) downloading and copying is legal, thanks to a generous copyright law and levies placed on all recordable media are redirected to the artists to compensate for this behaviour, so I could theoretically get my hands on the Ultimate Collection LDs, convert them to MPEG-2 and burn them to DVD-r with no fear of reprisals.