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Is torrenting illegal when you own said item?

An example being me wanting to transfer "The Prestige" onto my PS3. I already own the dvd, so is it illegal to download the film in a format that the console registers due to my not having dvd ripping software?

Also, I had my laptop nicked with a dvd inside. I still have the case. Would it thus be illegal to torrent/download the very same dvd, burn it onto a disk, and put it into my dvd case bearing in mind I already purchased it?

It's a grey area I know, so I was wondering on the exact laws!

It is illegal. Owning a physical copy limits you to using that copy. Creating further copies (such as ripping it or download it) breaks UK copyright law. Morally, you may take a different view. Legally it's against the rules.

Ted wrote:It is illegal. Owning a physical copy limits you to using that copy. Creating further copies (such as ripping it or download it) breaks UK copyright law. Morally, you may take a different view. Legally it's against the rules.

Then surely it would be illegal to back up your cds e.t.c? Is it not legal if you do not plan to share it with anybody?

beardy - you do realise you ask a lot of questions on here, and when people give you the response/answer, if it doesnt back up what you already believe...you then go and poo-poo that response...

take it on the chin (heard you like that) and just accept the response(s) you get old bean...

no no I'm not challenging it, I was just double checking

Itunes, for example, encourage you to back up your music and videos purchased

Isn't there usually a "fair use" assumption here?

I'm not sure about in the UK but I'm fairly certain that here in the US, uploading your music into ITunes or Zune, fair use says that so long as its for backup purposes it is legal. You can also burn the music to a CD or drop it onto an MP3 player legally because that is considered backing it up.

I often buy CDs and then immediately put them on my Zune and burn a copy to keep in my large CD case in my car. And the original stays in its case on my shelf. Fair Use deems that to be legal(unless they've changed it) but if I were to do all of that and THEN make a second copy and give it to my roommate, I've violated the Fair Use laws.

Ah, but what about downloading that which you already have, instead of copying it?

ted's already told you - the act of visiting a torrent site and downloading stuff from those sites is illegal...

Fair dos!

Cheers all

Beardy wrote:Then surely it would be illegal to back up your cds e.t.c?

Correct - that too is illegal (EDIT: In the UK, where there is no 'fair use' clause). However, the BPI has said that it would be unlikely to prosecute individuals who simply backup their own discs. Nevertheless, copying a copyright-protected work (to which you do not have permission to copy) is illegal. There are various untested defences available, but you'd need to be prosecuted in order to try these out.

2nd EDIT: By the way, it is not the mechanism of torrents that makes things dodgy. Bittorrent technology is not inherently 'wrong'. It's just abused a lot.

So what about Itunes then?

Reverend Tristan wrote:So what about Itunes then?

That depends on whether you buy from the iTunes store or rip CDs. As I said earlier, ripping CDs in the UK is illegal (but the BPI doesn't care).

You can break the law as often as you like as long as no one brings a prosecution, but just because you're never prosecuted does not mean you're not breaking the law, if you'll pardon all the negatives in this sentence!

iTunes is a load of s***. Constantly freezes and the laptop needs restarting or shutting down for it to work again. Takes an hour to do something that should take seconds.

As you were.

Ted wrote:It is illegal. Owning a physical copy limits you to using that copy. Creating further copies (such as ripping it or download it) breaks UK copyright law. Morally, you may take a different view. Legally it's against the rules.

This is incorrect. If you own an item you are allowed to create as many back up copies as you like for personal usage. The legality comes in to play when you distribute those back ups, that is the illegal part.

With a torrent, well, if you got caught (highly unlikely but let's assume you did) you now have to justify to the authorities why you chose to download it rather than make a simple back up using widely available software. You also get placed in the quandry of that whilst you are peering you are also seeding any of the parts you have received to other people therefore sharing the file with others... aka distributing it! This is the point at which they'll have ya!!