a Legal question for ya all

[epidural man]

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I used to use bittorrent technology to download movies. My goal is to put movies on my ipod or iphone for enjoyment. But then when I was at the theater one time, they showed that commercial that says "you wouldn't steal a car, downloading movies is stealing!" and anyway, it made me feel a little guilty, (although I know that it is a faulty comparison) - so I decided to stop doing it. (parenthetically, I still download TV shows with absolutely no guilt. Most tv shows are available on www.hulu.comfor free anyway.)

Anyway, so now I pay for netflix and then rip the DVD and compress to an mp4 format. The problem is, this takes a lot of time.

So, what do you guys think? Just because it is easy to take it off the internet doesn't mean that it should be my right, but maybe it isn't wrong. Is paying for it on netflix and ripping it wrong? The MPAA has tried very hard to get the software used to break the code to rip it not available in the US.

I have mixed feelings about getting music using bittorrent because I feel that the artist should get my money, not steve jobs and RCA - so if I go to a concert I will buy the CD there so the artist gets my $15 bucks rather than the corporate giants.

 

[coprolalia]

The human mind has the ability to rationalize almost any action that hurts someone else. Look at it this way. Without Steve Jobs or RCA, many of those artists wouldn't have a career. There's a lot of great bands out there writing, recording, and producing incredible music that most have never heard because these "evil" entities aren't backing it. Last time I checked, most garage bands that have hit it big have had a substantial increase in their lifestyle secondary to these evil corporations.

Want to do your part? Don't listent to corporate rock. Period. The majority of it sucks anyway.

-copro

 

[swpm]

Is paying for it on netflix and ripping it wrong?

I own 100s of DVDs purchased at retail. I pay real, hard cash every month (via DirecTV) in order to obtain TV programming - from the major networks to a handful of premium pay channels (HBO etc). I paid more real, hard cash to DirecTV to buy a HD DVR to record any of that content for later viewing. Only disk space limits how much or how long something may be kept.

I don't see any moral, ethical, or plausible legal prohibition to using bittorrent to download a movie or TV show that I've already paid for through DVD purchases or TV subscriptions. I don't download things I haven't paid for. Simple.

Fair use and timeshifting have been upheld since the very early days of VCRs. A computer + bittorrent is not fundamentally different than a DVR + DirecTV. You know what you've paid for - you should feel free to enjoy that content in any format, on any device, at any time.

Now, downloading a movie you didn't buy in another format (DVD), or downloading a TV series you never had a right to watch, such as bittorrenting all six seasons of the Sopranos when you weren't an HBO subscriber, is another issue. That's plainly copyright infringement. (Not theft, but copyright infringement ... both are illegal and unethical, but they are not the same.)

But what you're talking about (format/time shifting) is absolutely appropriate, even if certain thuggish 4-letter agencies claim otherwise. You paid for the right to watch the film via your NetFlix subscription - you're entitled to watch the film on your terms.

I have mixed feelings about getting music using bittorrent because I feel that the artist should get my money, not steve jobs and RCA - so if I go to a concert I will buy the CD there so the artist gets my $15 bucks rather than the corporate giants.

This too, is not ambiguous from an ethical standpoint.

You don't get to choose who gets the money from a CD sale. You only get to choose whether to buy it and listen to it, or NOT buy it and NOT listen to it. The fact that the RIAA is run like a less scrupulous version of the mafia is irrelevant.

Buying the CD at a concert is a great way to reward the artist and cut out the middleman.

 

[Bertelman]

I paid more real, hard cash to DirecTV to buy a HD DVR to record any of that content for later viewing. Only disk space limits how much or how long something may be kept.

I've had a few old shows deleted after like six months on my DVR. It usually gives a warning for a few weeks, then poof!

 

[IctalSmile]

I've had a few old shows deleted after like six months on my DVR. It usually gives a warning for a few weeks, then poof!

Last week DirecTV gave me a message on my DVR saying that going forward, ppv movies will "expire" and erase themselves after 24 hours. Stuff you already have will be okay, but in the furture, you have a day to watch it. The same doesnt hold true for sports and events (I think).