To Copy or Not to Copy?

Here's what the law says you can--and can't--do with digital media files.

Anne Kandra is a contributing editor for PC World. E-mail her at consumerwatch@pcworld.com. Click here to read more Consumer Watch columns.

The party's over. Or at least it's winding down quickly. The law is closing in, and this time it's taking prisoners. Jittery file swappers across the country are turning off the tunes and scrambling to clean up the evidence.

If you've been scared straight by the Recording Industry Association of America's recent slew of lawsuits against accused file sharers (for more information on the suits, see "Music Labels Declare War on File Swappers"), you aren't alone. A study done by Nielsen//NetRatings indicated that traffic from homes to peer-to-peer site Kazaa--the leader in the file-sharing industry since the original Napster's plug was pulled--has declined by 41 percent in the months since the RIAA started slapping suits on suspected file-sharing kingpins.

Now chances are, you weren't spending hours a day downloading MP3 versions of the Billboard Top 40 anyway. But the lawsuits, some against people who say they believed that what they were doing was legal, highlight the thorny nature of copyright law, in which it's not always easy to know what's right and what's wrong.

And the problem isn't just with music. The emergence of DVD burners for the living room gives home users the means to create versions of television broadcasts and movies that are almost as easy to transmit and copy as the MP3 version of a Miles Davis CD. As a result, consumers have to figure out what they can and can't do with that digital content as well.

In 2001, for instance, media powerhouses including Disney and AOL Time Warner sued the makers of ReplayTV, saying the device's capacity to pause live TV, skip commercials, and transmit digital copies of television shows to other ReplayTV devices infringed on the content producers' rights. The suit was stayed when the product's manufacturer, SonicBlue, declared bankruptcy. ReplayTV's new maker, D&M Holdings, has removed the ability to automatically skip commercials and send recorded programming over the Internet to other ReplayTV users.

You've Got Questions

Not sure whether using Aerosmith to pump through your morning workout means you're breaking the law, or whether you can legally share your complete collection of Sex and the City with friends? Here are answers to a few common digital entertainment questions (the answers come from attorneys with long experience in copyright law, but remember that reasonable lawyers can disagree--in fact, that's how they make their living).

Can I rip MP3 files from CDs I already own and copy them onto my hard drive or another media player? Sure, unless the disk includes copy protection that prevents you from doing so. In fact, as long as the files are for your own personal use--which means you don't share them with anyone else--you can make as many copies as you like. So go ahead and bring Yo-Yo Ma to the office, and copy him to your PDA, your portable MP3 player, and your notebook. Just be sure to keep all that cello music to yourself.

Suppose I buy a song from an online music service like MusicMatch or EMusic--can I make any number of copies to add to my collection of digital devices? Maybe not. But the reasons for this have less to do with copyright law than with the rules of the site you buy from. Some sites, such as EMusic, allow you to make as many copies as you want for your own personal use--and that makes sense. After all, why should you be penalized simply because you chose to download a file instead of schlepping to the music store three towns away? Nevertheless, plenty of download sites place restrictions on how you can use the music you buy, such as limiting the number of copies you can make. The moral? Always read the terms and conditions of the site you're shopping at before you buy. But you probably don't have to worry about inadvertently breaking the rules. Most of these files come with sturdy built-in copy protection that makes it very difficult to do anything verboten.

I spent hard-earned money to get "Abba's Greatest Hits" on vinyl years ago. If I want a digital version, what's wrong with downloading it from Kazaa? After all, I already paid for the music. Not so fast, Dancing Queen. You didn't pay for any and all use of the Abba tunes, just for that particular copy in that particular format and for the right to make limited copies for yourself. If you want it in a different format, you have to pay. That's why owners of eight-track tapes couldn't go into stores and grab CDs of the same music for free.

Okay, so I won't trade music online via a peer-to-peer network anymore. Can I at least burn copies of the songs I already own onto a CD and trade 'em with my friends? Nope. Whether you're using the Internet or a sneakernet, file sharing is illegal. Of course, as long as your friends aren't undercover RIAA operatives, you probably won't be sued for giving your high school sweetheart a copy of "Bohemian Rhapsody" for old times' sake. But the bottom line is this: Any copyrighted material, digital or otherwise, is for the personal use of the purchaser only--you can't make copies for others.

If I download music or movies from a site that's based outside the United States, am I responsible for following stateside copyright laws? Yep. As long as you're in the United States, U.S. laws apply to you.

Is it okay to record an over-the-air broadcast of "The Simpsons" on my DVD recorder and watch it later? Yes it is. All the rules that go for VCRs apply to digital video recorders like a TiVo as well. You can even invite a small group of friends over to sit and watch with you and your family; but if the group extends beyond your friends and acquaintances, you're stepping onto shaky legal ground. And if you charge admission, consider yourself a crook.

My neighbor, who's never missed an episode of "Survivor," came down with food poisoning the other night and is begging me to lend him the copy of the latest episode I made with my DVD burner. Can I oblige without jeopardizing my future appointment to the Supreme Court? Probably, though if you really want to be cautious, you should invite him over to watch it in the comfort of your living room. Just as in the case of music files, the law prohibits you from giving friends copies of any form of copyrighted material--including over-the-air broadcasts. But most of the attorneys I spoke with agree that this type of situation would probably be considered legal.

The popcorn's hot, the beer's cold, and I've just ordered up a pay-per-view screening of "The Real Cancun" from my cable company. Suddenly, the phone rings. I've got to hop a flight to Burkina Faso. Can I record the show to DVD and catch it when I get home? Putting aside the obvious question of why you'd want to record that show, the short answer is yes. Pay-per-view broadcasts are a hotly debated area, with some in Hollywood trying to impose severe limitations on the rights of viewers to copy, or time-shift, the shows. But at this point, as long as you follow the rules by keeping the file to yourself--and assuming that the broadcast isn't copy-protected--you should be in the clear.

My kids have a nasty habit of playing Frisbee with my DVDs, and I want to make sure I always have a working copy of "Dude, Where's My Car?" Can I use software to make a backup copy? We won't know the answer to that question until a judge rules on it. Seven major movie studios have filed suit against 321 Studios, which makes DVD-Xcopy software for copying DVD discs. 321 Studios argues that creating backup copies for personal use is perfectly legal. But Hollywood claims that the software maker's process violates the law because it circumvents copyright protection technology, a no-no under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

The bottom line? If you're pondering the legality of making a copy, ask yourself whether what you're doing will diminish the value of whatever you're copying. Copying your Rolling Stones album so you can hear it at work doesn't cost Mick and the boys a sale, but copying it so that 5--or 500--of your closest friends can download it might. Attorney and author Susan Butler, who has over 20 years of experience in copyright, media, and technology law, puts it this way: "Ask yourself: 'If I owned the rights to this material, and that's how I made my living, would I want someone to do this?'" Think that way, and you're unlikely to end up on the wrong end of subpoena.