Copyright Law Blog

The Motion Picture Association Of America And Copyrights

July 20th, 2009 at 12:35am Under copyright act

The MPAA
The MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) is the national voice of anti piracy laws. The MPAA defines copyright theft as: signal theft, theatrical print theft, digital picture theft (from the internet), unauthorized public performance of copyrighted work, and optical disc and videocassette theft. In the recent years the MPAA has played a major role in identifying and filing lawsuits against people who are liable for these kinds of thefts.
Some people may ask: “what constitutes these kinds of thefts?” or “does the MPAA really go after the small fries?” The truth is that the MPAA considers any kind of illegal duplication or performance of copyrighted pieces of material theft punishable to the full extent of the laws broad arm. And yes, they will go after the “small fries” as well as the big profiteers.
Here are some definitive answers to what constitutes some kinds of actions considered thefts by the MPAA:
• Theatrical print theft: Stealing the physical film from an authorized showing establishment, or straight from the studio. This form of theft is serious because it allows the thief to make high quality duplicates of the film for personal use or to resell for profit.
• Signal theft: when someone illegally taps into cable TV systems and receives programs usually paid for by the viewer at no cost. Many thieves have made substantial amounts of money selling devices specially designed to tap into cable or receive unauthorized satellite transmissions.
• Digital picture theft (via the internet): the internet can be easily utilized to download stolen or decoded movies. Some people are unaware that this kind of action is a theft! These things are considered a theft because they are taken from the internet without prior consent to the copyright owner. Just because money was exchanged (which many internet download sites and programs may ask of you to do to trick you into thinking it is a legitimate service) DOES NOT mean that it is legitimate. Even illegally hosting and streaming music for others, who did not purchase the music, is considered illegal.
The MPAA goes through great efforts to catch and prosecute offenders. Besides, how would you feel if you spent millions of dollars and thousands of hours producing a movie to sell to the public and instead of seeing profit for your hard work and time spent, you see nothing? This is why the MPAA considers such acts as those stated above as stealing.

The Solution to Copying Copyright-protected Dvds Has Arrived

July 9th, 2009 at 12:41am Under copyright protection

The name articulates it well; DVD backup programs permit you to copy your DVD movies onto a vacant DVD. Applications like this grant you the liberty that you necessitate; particularly if you have a enormous variety of DVDs that you need to copy. Prior to an installation of a DVD backup software, you have got to make certain that the program is companionable with your DVD player. This way following the installation of the application, you?ll have no problems with the backup procedure of your DVD. Now you do not have to be troubled regarding your DVDs vanishing or being broken, since you will have an abundance of copies set aside.

One exceptionally economical program is labeled DVD Wizard Pro. Even while its price is excellent, there are heaps of steps in the software to essentially backup an encrypted DVD. This is not for a rookie. On the other hand, DVD Wizard Pro permits you to backup a DVD to a CD. That means you do not need a DVD burner to copy your DVDs, as an alternative you can use your CD burner to backup DVDs. And of course you can backup DVD to DVD by means of your DVD burner if you have one. An additional awesome characteristic of the program is that you can download a motion picture directly to the DVD. A unique attribute that differentiates itself from the majority of other DVD backup applications is the capacity to copy Xbox and other DVD games.

There is very popular program called 1CLICK DVD COPY, which is extremely user friendly. This software makes it easy for anyone to backup their DVD movies without the agonizing hassle of a series of step by step process. 1CLICK DVD COPY, just like the name implies, gets rid of the complexity and enables you to complete a DVD copy task with just one click of a mouse.

Now one the most import benefits that you are probably concern about, is the ability to copy copyright-protected DVDs. Not all DVD copy software is created equal. You have to make sure that you have the right software for your needs. That is what hurts programs like Roxio and Nero so much. They cannot backup CSS encrypted DVDs. Now the programs that were mentioned above and a relative new software called DVD neXt COPY can backup those CSS encrypted DVD movies with ease. DVD neXt COPY can even copy those scratched or damaged DVDs. Not only that, it will copy the movie in a 1:1 perfect DVD quality.

There are some many DVD copy software out there with several functions like converting a DVD into another format, best known as a DVD ripper. Repairing damaged DVD’s and manipulating the read speeds to change the size of the DVD movie. Most are compatible with a huge majority of DVD burners. A few even work with Blu-ray and HD discs.

Ensure you do some research on the many types of DVD copy software that is available. Make sure you know what type of software is compatible with the operating software you are using. If you have Windows Vista, only a few companies have DVD copy software available.

Beware of freebie sites that seem to be a gift from God. They normally just install a bunch of spyware and possible viruses onto your computer. If you are a freebie hunter, which we all are, then make sure to scan the file of viruses and spyware. But your best bet is to buy a reputable program that you can depend on copying your DVDs effectively and easily without the added bombardment of popup advertisements appearing.

Copyright-protected Dvds are Able to be Ripped

July 8th, 2009 at 12:41pm Under copyright protection

Making a duplicate of your favorite DVD is not as easy as it looks. Forget simply copying the disc to empty DVD in the computer. It will not work. Like a foreign language, the copyright safeguards make the software impossible to read correctly. Even if you are lucky enough to get audio, the video files will probably not be readable. You need the information on how to copy a protected DVD.

At first, one thinks that copying a DVD can?t be difficult. That?s right ? it is not difficult if you have the right program to overcome the protection and to decrypt and shrink the data. Copyright protections exist because many malicious people copy illegally DVDs and because of that manufacturers had to invent a way to stop them from having a usable copy.

There are several things you need to know before you start copying DVDs. First, copyright laws do not allow to make a profit from someone else?s work. Second, the only case when you can legally copy a DVD is for personal use only.

Now when you know the legal aspects of copying a DVD, you can proceed with copying it. For this, you will need a DVD ripper. Until recently DVDShrink did the job but since it is not maintained anymore, there are many recent protections it is helpless with. All these new protections are the response of manufacturers to malicious people who make unauthorized copies.

However, copying a DVD for personal use is OK. Having in mind the prices of movies and games, the budget of many families does not allow to buy new copies, if the old one breaks.

But, when favorite games or movies are in danger of being played until they wear out, you should have the opportunity to make a backup. For example, RipitforMe is a newer tool to shrink playable copies to fit the information on the new DVD. However, even this program stopped development in April 2007. Before shrinking the DVD must be ripped with a program like DVD Fab Decrypter. Unfortunately, as protection programs build new safeguards, new ripper programs must also be authored. So, if one ripper does not work, maybe a newer version will.

The best time to make a backup copy is when the DVD is new. If the DVD has been played a lot, it might be scratched, which could result in loss of data and/or poor quality. So, if you want to make a backup copy of a favorite movie of yours ? i.e. the favorite movies of your children, do it before the DVD is worn out due to frequent viewing.

It is legal to make copies of your favorite DVDs for personal use. You just need to find a program, which can deal with the latest copyright protections and you are on your way to enjoy your beloved movies and games for many years.