Can I make copies of my DVDs?

William sends in a loaded question about his movie and music collection:

As everyone knows, it’s illegal to make copies of my CDs and DVDs, which means that it is also illegal for me to make backup copies. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is always saying that if the DVDs are damaged, we can get a copy by providing the damaged original to them. My question is: Where do we get that copy? I’ve tried the stores where I purchased the originals and was told they do not replace DVDs. I’ve tried contacting the manufacturers but have had no success. I have several defective DVDs, which I now can use only as coasters because I was not able to make a backup. Can the Gripe Line find someone who can tell us what our recourse is? I expect you will only find that we will just have to suck it up and weep.

First of all, let’s start with the loaded part of the question: “We all know that it’s illegal to make copies of CDs and DVDs.” I don’t think we do know that. In fact, I think there is a lot of confusion about this.

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Can I copy my music CDs?

It is a commonly held opinion that making a backup copy of your music CDs is within your “fair use” rights. CDs are fragile and music is expensive. Ripping a CD to a computer or a portable music player for preservation and convenience is a common practice, and I don’t think the people doing it consider themselves in breach of the law.

The RIAA Web site (the trade group that represents the U.S. recording industry) says, “When you make illegal copies of someone’s creative work, you are stealing and breaking the law….you need the permission of the copyright holder before you copy and/or distribute a copyrighted music recording.” So the question is: Do we have permission to make a backup — or convenience — copy for our own personal use?

The RIAA offers a list (“Examples of easy ways you could violate the law”) detailing how you can get into trouble copying CDs, and it does not include the common practice of ripping a CD as a backup or for personal listening convenience:

• Somebody you don’t even know e-mails you a copy of a copyrighted song and then you turn around and e-mail copies to all of your friends.
• You make an MP3 copy of a song because the CD you bought expressly permits you to do so. But then you put your MP3 copy on the Internet, using a file-sharing network, so that millions of other people can download it.
• Even if you don’t illegally offer recordings to others, you join a file-sharing network and download unauthorized copies of all the copyrighted music you want for free from the computers of other network members.
• In order to gain access to copyrighted music on the computers of other network members, you pay a fee to join a file-sharing network that isn’t authorized to distribute or make copies of copyrighted music. Then you download unauthorized copies of all the music you want.
• You transfer copyrighted music using an instant messaging service.
• You have a computer with a CD burner, which you use to burn copies of music you have downloaded onto writable CDs for all of your friends.

William may have seen headlines claiming this “backup” practice is illegal, but while it’s hard to find a clear explanation of “legal” in this context, Cary Fisher, the president of the RIAA did say in a 2008 NPR interview, “We haven’t taken the position that ripping CDs to your computer or your digital music player — like an iPod — is illegal.”

So far, I think we’re safe on that one. William could have made copies of his music CDs.

What about movies?

Making a backup copy of a movie DVD is certainly technically possible with several freely available tools. But according to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), the voice of the movie industry, whether you can do it legally is another matter. In fact, the world is awaiting a court decision that hinges on this question.

Five movie studios sued RealNetworks last year over its RealDVD product, which allowed consumers to make backup copies of their DVD movies to their hard drive. It did not make DVD duplication simple; it simply allowed people like William to archive — or take with him on his laptop — his personal collection. The studios claim that under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), making a backup copy is not a right that consumers have when it comes to movies. The DMCA also says that any software that circumvents a DVD’s electronic protection is illegal. So while the courts decide how to interpret the DMCA (PDF) on this case — one that is about a lot more than the RealDVD product — RealNetworks has stopped selling it.

August 12: UPDATE: Shortyly after I posted this, it seems a decision was returned in this case. Harry McCracken at the Technologizer reported last night that the news is not good for ReadDVD — or for anyone wanting to make a backup copy of  their DVD movies — as Judge Patel has ruled against RealNetworks.

Some movies do allow you a backup, or digital, copy you can download to your computer. That will likely be clear when you purchase the movie. Disney (one of the studios in the suit against RealNetworks), for example, offers digital downloads of movies with this bonus feature.

The case of Hollywood versus RealNetworks is fascinating and important. But since William says he does not have a backup copy of the movies that are now acting as coasters, his legal right to make those copies is probably — for the moment — moot.

So how do you get a replacement copy? William did not say which movies had become coasters, but for Universal Studios films, he can use a Web form to find out if which titles are available for replacement. It costs $7.95 for the first DVD and $2.50 for each additional DVD to cover shipping and handling. No more than 10 titles may be returned per household per year. For MGM titles, he can call 888-223-2369 and explain which movie is damaged; someone in customer service will explain what he needs to send in and where to send it. Not from either of those studios? Try the studio’s Web site.

Got gripes? Send them to christina_tynan-wood@infoworld.com.