How do you know whether it is legal to burn something onto your computer?

Answer 1

If by "burn," you mean to copy digital media, you will know that it is legal if you created the data yourself. This means that you may copy and distribute photos taken by you, recordings created by you (but not recordings of others, necessarily), music performed by you, or original works of art or literature that you've created. Alternately, if you purchased the media, you are entitled to 'reasonable use,' the most common reasonable use would be to convert them to mp3 format so that they'll play on your iPod.

Unless you've either created the data (be it art, music, literature, software, etc), or legally hold copyright to it, then burning copies is illegal. This is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as well as other national and international copyright laws.

Software and music, in particular, are the primary areas of concern for this issue. When you 'purchase' software, generally you are not purchasing the software; rather, you are purchasing a license to use the software from the company that owns the software and the applicable copyrights. Upon installing it, take the time to read the End User License Agreement (EULA) -- also known as "all the fine print that you acknowledged by scrolling through it, checking a checkbox, and clicking 'I agree' to start the installation, but never actually read." The EULA spells out your rights under this agreement quite clearly... basically nil. Generally, you are permitted by make an archival copy strictly for backup purposes to protect against losing the originals or recover them in the event of a catastrophe. You are not permitted to sell them, loan them, distribute them, or even use them on another computer. Of course, shareware and freeware are exceptions to this rule, and their publishers are more democratic than most commercial software companies; though there are usually conditions, copying, sharing and burning are generally fair game... sometimes selling, but not usually. When in doubt, read the EULA.

In the case of music or video, this is also a copyright issue. Read the lengthy legal and copyright information inside a CD or DVD cover for the full scoop... or simply play the video and read the 'FBI Warning' that accompanies the video, which threatens 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for copyright infringement. An archival copy may be permitted, but not generally. That still means no sharing, trading, selling, or simultaneous use.

Strictly speaking, use of digital copyrighted media without the author's permission (and compensation) is illegal and unethical. Its also widespread and... well... irresistible. There are so very many sources for free downloads, and peer-to-peer networks for acquiring them. One can acquire a lifetime of music in less than an hour, for FREE!!! It's seductive, I know. But it's completely illegal, and every once in a while an average mp3 downloader gets caught and becomes a cautionary example.

So, why then are there so many programs produced by reputable companies that allow us to download all this illegal music and video?

Well, they market their programs for users to share files, which is completely legal. Nowhere did they tell you to use their program for illegal purposes, you criminal! You thought of that one all on your own! Shame, shame! As a matter of fact, their EULA specifically warned you of the illegality of downloading and copying copyrighted material, and told you not to do it.

In all fairness... they know what people do with their software. But, they choose to walk a fine legal line in marketing their products. And they are legal. It's the customers who are not. They just make a tool... if others break the law, that's on them. Or, put another way, those same peer-to-peer file sharing programs are also favored by pedophiles, who use them to traffic in child pornography, exploiting the distributed nature of p2p to avoid getting caught.

If you're downloading copyrighted material illegally, you're doing the same.