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Two can play at this game ...
321studio is filing a complaint against the MPAA in regards to the DMCA. 321studio sells a DVD backup software called DVD Copy Plus, you can download it here :
(you'll need to purchase a license before you can use it, which is a shame, because there are many free DVD conversion tools - they should at least provide a trial version, as this will avoid the situation where people buy a DVD backup tool thinking that the backup will be identical to the original DVD, but in actual fact, it is only to DivX or the low quality VCD format, which I think is what DVD Copy Plus converts to).
I don't know what will come of this, or whether this is just a publicity stunt (of course, if this backfires ...). It seems they are responding to some kind of threat made by the MPAA, which is not all that surprising, considering DVD Copy Plus is marketed as a commercial DVD copying tool, and we all know how "mad" the MPAA got at a certain free DVD decryption tool (that didn't even work properly) ...
I have some quite negative feelings towards software such as DVD Copy Plus, which reportedly packages freeware tools such as DVDx, SmartRipper and VCDEasy, and tries to sell it as a standalone commercial package. It may have some nice looking guides and a new interface or something, but the fact is that it is still based on freeware tools, sometimes taken without the permission of the author. But this is probably not the main issue here, as the MPAA doesn't care if it is freeware or not.
From my perspective, there are two issues involved here. One is the legality of DVD backup, for profit-less personal use (since backing up CDs are legal - it seems that it is only illegal if the stuff you are trying to backup has anti-copy protection). The other is the question that if I sell a software to make backups of DVDs, and these backups are pirated, does it mean that I have profited from the piracy, as indirectly as it is.
I've heard a wide range of opinions in regards to this, with some saying that it's all illegal, and some saying that it's all legal, and those that believe as long as no one is making profits from it and it's for personal, it should be legal (fair use). I tend to believe these are all valid points, and you can give arguments for and against each of these opinions.
The big question : is DVD backup illegal, since it could be used to pirate the movie (although most professional pirates probably won't be using a DVD ripper to make copies of DVDs, since bit-to-bit DVD copiers are available and makes DVD pirating much easier)? Or should it be allowed, since DVD backup could come under fair-use?
If guns are legal in the US, and you can argue they have both legal and illegal uses, should DVD rippers be legal as well?
(you'll need to purchase a license before you can use it, which is a shame, because there are many free DVD conversion tools - they should at least provide a trial version, as this will avoid the situation where people buy a DVD backup tool thinking that the backup will be identical to the original DVD, but in actual fact, it is only to DivX or the low quality VCD format, which I think is what DVD Copy Plus converts to).
I don't know what will come of this, or whether this is just a publicity stunt (of course, if this backfires ...). It seems they are responding to some kind of threat made by the MPAA, which is not all that surprising, considering DVD Copy Plus is marketed as a commercial DVD copying tool, and we all know how "mad" the MPAA got at a certain free DVD decryption tool (that didn't even work properly) ...
I have some quite negative feelings towards software such as DVD Copy Plus, which reportedly packages freeware tools such as DVDx, SmartRipper and VCDEasy, and tries to sell it as a standalone commercial package. It may have some nice looking guides and a new interface or something, but the fact is that it is still based on freeware tools, sometimes taken without the permission of the author. But this is probably not the main issue here, as the MPAA doesn't care if it is freeware or not.
From my perspective, there are two issues involved here. One is the legality of DVD backup, for profit-less personal use (since backing up CDs are legal - it seems that it is only illegal if the stuff you are trying to backup has anti-copy protection). The other is the question that if I sell a software to make backups of DVDs, and these backups are pirated, does it mean that I have profited from the piracy, as indirectly as it is.
I've heard a wide range of opinions in regards to this, with some saying that it's all illegal, and some saying that it's all legal, and those that believe as long as no one is making profits from it and it's for personal, it should be legal (fair use). I tend to believe these are all valid points, and you can give arguments for and against each of these opinions.
The big question : is DVD backup illegal, since it could be used to pirate the movie (although most professional pirates probably won't be using a DVD ripper to make copies of DVDs, since bit-to-bit DVD copiers are available and makes DVD pirating much easier)? Or should it be allowed, since DVD backup could come under fair-use?
If guns are legal in the US, and you can argue they have both legal and illegal uses, should DVD rippers be legal as well?
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