Format shifting is exempted under the DMCA so if you have originals it doesn't matter how you got
your copies as long as you weren't distributing them. Using torrents can cause uploading while you
are downloading but you can throttle down uploads on individual torrents to just one connection at
only one kilobyte per second. When you do that the odds of being sued shrink a lot and even in that
unlikely event a judge would be inclined to agree that you did whatever you could to respect the law.
A complaint may be made but it would be difficult and expensive to hold you liable so nobody would
try anything more than a bluff to fool you into paying them a few hundred bucks to go away. Those
bluffs are starting to go away too because more judges are stopping them from playing that game.
Possessing a DVD or BluRay ripper is not illegal in itself but making and selling them is too risky,
which is why most ripping is done with free software on ordinary personal computers or in other
countries with no such law.
The bottom line is that the grey area around downloading copies of what you already have is not
particularly risky for you if you make a good-faith effort to avoid leaking copies to other people.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/12/2012 10:39AM by Aaron.Walkhouse.
