(legal) movie downloads

S0litaire

Copyright is under Civil Law not Criminal Law. (that's why all those law firms can get away in sending letters demanding payment for "Download infringement of copyrighted materials" with little to no proof.

Police will only investigate *IF* a substantial complaint is made from the legal copyright holder against the specific person involved, otherwise it's not worth the time and effort involved for the Police to investigate and enforce it.

Also you have the right to copy and store transmissions (TV/Radio) for up to 30 days before copyright law takes effect. (That's why things like the BBC's iPlayer will delete recording after 30 days or so if you download a show.)

buglawton

Handsome90 wrote: »

Not that I can think of. You can download movies from iTunes and watch those in your laptop. However, you will need a HDMI cable or a similar cable in order to watch it your TV as you'll have to connect your laptop.

And you can only watch your download for 48 hours once you start it, + no subtitles on iTunes movies, this has existed on DVDs almost since they were invented.

tronator

S0litaire wrote: »

Also you have the right to copy and store transmissions (TV/Radio) for up to 30 days before copyright law takes effect.

That's news to me. Any link to back this claim?
I rarely watch LiveTV. My MythTV box records everything I want to watch, and I watch it when I want and not when the TV station wants me to watch it. It's completely legal, even if I watch it after 31 days or even 1 year.

The reason why TV shows are only available on iPlayer for 30 days is, because the content provider makes a difference (for whatever stup*d reason) between broadcasted and downloadable content.

And there are also ways to circumvent the (technically non-existing) DRM of the iPlayer. Google's your friend...

S0litaire

http://copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

Acts that are allowed

Fair dealing is a term used to describe acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work, these acts are:

* Private and research study purposes.
* Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.
* Criticism and news reporting.
* Incidental inclusion.
* Copies and lending by librarians.
* Acts for the purposes of royal commissions, statutory enquiries, judicial proceedings and parliamentary purposes.
* Recording of broadcasts for the purposes of listening to or viewing at a more convenient time, this is known as time shifting.
* Producing a back up copy for personal use of a computer program.
* Playing sound recording for a non profit making organisation, club or society.

http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/learning-about-copyright/what-the-law-says.asp

It is legal to download/upload a film or TV programme online if you do so with the relevant rights owners' permission. There are a number of other exceptions to the principle that you cannot copy a film or TV programme without the relevant rights owners' permission. The most relevant of these to consumers is the time shifting exception. This applies only in relation to TV or film content that is broadcast on the television.
The time shifting exception allows the legal copying of a TV broadcast of a film or TV programme (e.g. onto a DVD or on to a computer hard drive) only if:

• you make the copy in your own home; and
• you copy from the original broadcast; and
• your only reason for copying is to view the broadcast at a more convenient time.

This time shifting exception does not apply if you then share this copy with others by sending it to them or uploading it for download by them.

You can record a TV/Radio broadcast for the propose of "timeshifting" (i.e. to watch at a more convenient time) Their is not Official time period written into law for how long you can store a 'timeshifted' item but in practice you are given 28 days "grace period" before it can be deemed as copyright infringing.

Like some civil laws it's all in the interpretation if the law than the actual text. (i.e. it might not be legal to send or stream that "timeshifted" program from the DVR you own to another PC or mobile device of a household member since it can be seen as you "making available for sharing".)

pledgeX

Why not use Lovefilm? They have a streaming service (admittedly the range of titles isn't great) for when you're at home, and they also post you dvd's/bluray which you could view at home, or on your laptop when away.

Will probably be cheaper than buying the dvd unless you only buy 1 every couple of months.

Cheeky referral link here if you're interested

*Edit*. They also do free trial periods, so you can use it and see if it's suitable for your needs.

gonzo127

jumping all of the legal stuff, sounds like blinkbox might be best for you as they have a 'download' manager, and you can buy the films, - dont think you can burn them on to DVD, but could watch on a laptop etc - although you would have to check if they are still using this as an option since being purchased by tesco

johnnyboyrebel

joolzred wrote: »

Happy new year folks

We have a fab deal on our broadband - 60gb limit plus free data 12am-8am - and due to various factors it's difficult for me to browse racks of DVDs locally so I was wondering if there was a legal, cheapish ways to download movies & burn to a DVD to watch at home or on our laptop when away? Similar to buying & downloading Mp3 music and making a music CD from them?

Thanks in advance for your help!

I have asked this question on many occasions over the past years and the answer is unfortunately no. Regardless of the endless spouting we hear about 'everyone downloading illegally is ruining the industry' they give no legal alternative, it's just one big joke.

So you can't download illegally (apparently) but you also can't download legally so where that does leave you? With only one option....

As for downloading and burning to CD/DVD being 'illegal' :rotfl:

santer_2

Not films but downloading

http://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/study-shows-illegal-downloaders-purchase-the-most-music-legally

tronator

S0litaire wrote: »

http://copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law


http://www.copyrightaware.co.uk/learning-about-copyright/what-the-law-says.asp


You can record a TV/Radio broadcast for the propose of "timeshifting" (i.e. to watch at a more convenient time) Their is not Official time period written into law for how long you can store a 'timeshifted' item but in practice you are given 28 days "grace period" before it can be deemed as copyright infringing.

Given and deemed copyright infringing by whom? Neither your links nor any other source I found talk about a grace period, let alone 28 days...

If something is broadcasted I can record it and keep it as long as I want for my own personal use. It hasn't changed since the good old VCR times. Period.

johnnyboyrebel

tronator wrote: »

If something is broadcasted I can record it and keep it as long as I want for my own personal use. It hasn't changed since the good old VCR times. Period.

Agreed.

If I want to record a tv programme and keep a recording of it forever I can. I have never heard such tripe that this is 'illegal'. I mean it is only actually on this forum where I hear such bizarre comments.