If you watch DVDs and you use an HTPC then you probably already rip your DVDs for playing around your home. It’s easy, convenient and eliminates clutter. This is something I’ve done and I love having access to my collection anywhere in my home without digging for a disk. What most, but not all people, do not know is that this is illegal. Even though you’ve purchased the disk and legally bought the rights to view the content, current copyright law prevents ANY unauthorized duplication. We’re not talking about ripping and giving the content to friends here. This includes using the content in your own home.
RealDVD wanted to let you rip your DVDs quickly, easily and without hassle. Of course, the studios jumped up to block the software from being sold. Obviously if you want to store you PAID FOR collection on a hard drive for ease of use, you must be a criminal. <sarcasm>Goodness knows I’ve taken all of my ripped DVDs and given them to something like 20 people plus uploaded them to torrent sites. </sarcasm>
Now, according to Engadget, it looks as though RealDVD will be headed back to court to see what decision has been reached. Fair use advocates like myself will be trying to watch this case closely. How RealDVD differs from other DVD ripping software is not something I’ve investigated yet but this will have big impacts on how we get our media in the future. A loss for RealDVD will be a loss for all of us who want to legally purchase and consume our content the way we want.
Just like the music industry, I guess movie studios just don’t get it. Not everyone on the planet is a content pirate and we’re not all going to start uploading our media just because you cut the restrictions a bit. I guess history really does repeat itself. We’ll have to wait and see if the studios fair any better than music labels.
