[OT] legality of DVD backup

[Richmond]

On 11/08/2010 08:58 PM, Marc Siskin wrote:
> Richmond,
>
> One "legal" factor you want to keep in mind is the number of concurrent playbacks per dvd.  The backup argument is only good as long as you have a DVD for each concurrent viewing of the movie.  E.g. 3 concurrent viewings = 3 DVDs.
>
> And all of this is in the realm of non-tested law.  I would get your school's attorney's approval (they should be willing to defend you if you are asked to cease and desist).

My "school's attorney"; ha, ha, ha; as 95% of lawyers in Bulgaria use 
pirated copies of Windows
and Microsoft Office on their PCs the last thing I am likely to do is 
consult any of them . . .  :)

As I, and I alone, will be showing these DVDs, and I and I alone own 
physical copies of the DVDs
I would, in any other, "less bent" country, not pay a lawyer to get 
his/her sweaty, vampirical
paws into my money.

As my 'school' is in fact, registered as a "language centre"; i.e. 
because it does NOT have separate toilets for boys and girls it cannot 
be regsitered as a school; which, paradoxically, means that I operate under
far less restrictions than a language school qua language school, my 
"showing" DVDs is legally viewed
as the same sort of thing as running a DVD for one of my kids and 
his/her chums in my sitting-room.

I am not really worried about large-scale legal ramifications; just 
about the legality of having a copy
on a hard disk (read Ubuntu + k9copy).

> Marc Siskin
>
> On Nov 8, 2010, at 1:35 PM, Richmond wrote:
>
>> My EFL school is slowly migrating from a mixed Mac and Ubuntu school to being
>> a 100% Ubuntu school. However, for some reason which escapes me DVD playback
>> on my Ubuntu boxes is, at best, "lumpy".
>>
>> Therefore I am proposing to make ISO images of all the DVDs that I own and use on
>> a regular basis onto the hard disk of my main content delivery machine; I will always
>> have the physical DVDs present in the classroom.
>>
>> This will allow my Ubuntu box to play my DVDs normally.
>>
>> Can anyone advise me as to the legality of this action?
>>
>> Morally I have no qualms whatever; without this process I would have to,
>> either, purchase a TV and a DVD player, or, a Mac.
>>
>> sincerely, Richmond.
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> ---------------
> Marc Siskin
> Manager, Modern Language Resource Center
> Carnegie Mellon University
> msiskin at andrew.cmu.edu
>
>
>
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