Best Buy Advocates Warez?

[mbaker_jr]

I got a kick out of this when I saw the weekly Best Buy ad this morning:



As I understand it, the only legal way to record a TV show (like a sitcom) is timeshifting and it is against the law to do things like record an entire season of a show with the intention of keeping it for repeated future use. I don't know how many people actually observe this regulation but I thought that it was interesting to see Best Buy suggesting illegal activities on the front page of their ad.

( Note for newbies: Timeshifting is when you are unable to watch a tv broadcast it at its original time so you record it to watch later. After you have viewed the shifted content, you are supposed to erase it. )

[bugster]

Who is to say that you can't 'timeshift' an entire season. You know, record all 13 or 26 episodes or whatever, then watch the whole lot in one sitting, erasing as you go!


No, I don't believe anyone would do that either

[Robert Simandl]

If I remember right, it's perfectly legal to record a whole season's worth of a show, as long as you don't turn around and sell those DVD's. Should be fine doing it for your own personal use.

"But that's just my opinion, I could be wrong." -- Dennis Miller

[sitlet]

yes, as long as you only use it for your personal use, its perfectly legal

[chas0039]

The jury is still out on this question:

http://www.gigalaw.com/articles/2001-all/isenberg-2001-11-all.html

[themichael]

A couple of years ago there was an ad for a computer company in the UK that taked about downloading movies and music off the internet. I've got a scanned pic somewhere on my hard drive....

[adam]

Its only legal if you erase it after you watch it. It doesn't matter that something takes place in your own home and for personal use, you still have to follow the law. I could see someone timeshifting an entire season and then watching it at their leisure. Nothing wrong with that.

Also, I don't think it necessarily applies to this ad since I see that you are from Texas, but in other countries it is legal to backup any copyrighted material you own including broadcasts, and you can keep a backup as long as you want.