Re: Personal backup of copy-protected DVDs

["Damon L. Chesser" <damon@damtek.com>]

Douglas A. Tutty wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 07, 2008 at 03:08:02PM +0100, Kurt Petersen wrote:
>   
> > My daughter want to make some backups of her games on copy-protected
> > DVDs. 
> >
> > Anybody knows how to do that with Linux?
> >     
>  
> Seeing as how its called copy-protection, is this something that you
> want to do?  Even if it is possible, you must ask yourself if it is
> right.  Check your license agreement.  If it says that you only have the
> right to the one game on the one media, then it would be illegal for you
> to make a copy.  Do you want to teach your daughter that it is OK to
> break the law?  After all, she agreed to the license agreement the first
> time she played the game.  If she didn't think the license was
> satisfactory, she should have not played it.  If she is too young to
> understand this, then the burden falls to you.
>
> OTOH, if you believe that the copy protection is to prevent sharing of
> games and should not apply to backups, then go ahead and make this
> distinction.  
>
> I've never even seen a game on DVD (my last computer games came on
> floppy except for Harpoon that came on a CD).  
>
> Doug.
>
>
>   
Doug,

AFAIK (<<--see the disclaimer?) in the USA, you are allowed to make 
personal copies of media you own for your own use (not to install on 
multiple machines).  This has been upheld time and time again in the 
courts.  You can make all the copies of that other OS you want.  This is 
not illegal. You may not install that OS on more then one machine at a 
time.  And if you sell/give it away (also legal despite EULA saying the 
opposite) you may never use the existing copies you made, nor may you 
give those copies to another.  This is called "Fair Use".  Please 
correct me if I am wrong.

Many licenses you "agree" to tell you you can not do these things 
(notably, Windows used to state you could not sell the copy you had, if 
you dumped your box, you could not include the OS) however, the courts 
have ruled this is right and fair for a user to do.  Now, if you want to 
crack that copy protection, that is a different matter and that is 
illegal. 

How would one make a bit copy of a CD using dd?  dd if=/dev/whatever 
of=/file/name.iso  ? 

I never tried to dd a CD.

--
Damon L. Chesser
damon@damtek.com