[Squid]

Thanks, I saw mention of the program in an earlier thread just now. I am wondering (this generally gets me into trouble), why it is a big deal if I convert my own book for strictly my use. Even MS is beginning to embrace this with their Media Player 10 release. It allows you to rip CDs. I have been going back and ripping old discs that I wanted in a digital format. I am worried about the discs becoming to damaged to use. Why is this different than an e-book. I am not going to try and resell the e-book/music file.

Squid

[Squid]

Thanks, I saw mention of the program in an earlier thread just now. I am wondering (this generally gets me into trouble), why it is a big deal if I convert my own book for strictly my use. Even MS is beginning to embrace this with their Media Player 10 release. It allows you to rip CDs. I have been going back and ripping old discs that I wanted in a digital format. I am worried about the discs becoming to damaged to use. Why is this different than an e-book. I am not going to try and resell the e-book/music file.

Squid

[ctmagnus]

Originally Posted by SteveHoward999

There is a program called - I think - change Lit ....

Actually, it's Convert Lit

[SteveHoward999]

Originally Posted by Squid

I am wondering (this generally gets me into trouble), why it is a big deal if I convert my own book for strictly my use.

I think the legal point of view is that if it is your own property you have the right to make a copy of the file, and the law seems to be turning around to making it fine to decode coded files in order to make that backup for your own use. If I remember rightly, the law has recently changed here in America (or perhaps is about to) to make it perfectly legal to rip DVDs to make a personal backup.


Ultimately the common sense view is that if you own it you can use it how you like - one precedent being records that we all used to copy onto cassette and mini disc, we all had mini discs, right? :roll: . The law up till now has been against copying with things like DVD and electronic books because they were treated differently under copyright laws (sorry, it's late and I forget the exact detail of this right now) but for the sake of argument CDs were apples and books/dvds were oranges :-)


In the case of DVDs you also have the might of Holywood that gives us the rediculous situation that I cannot play my perfectly-legally-obtained DVDs from the UK on an American DVD player - or my perfectly-legally-obtained DVS purchased in America on a UK DVD player. Apparently Australia was one country that managed to tell Holywood to f*** off with that dumb idea :-)