Is DVD/Blu-ray ripping legal? The answer may surprise you

Although we have entered an era where movies can be acquired easily online, DVD and Blu-ray are still not out of date. Many people still buy DVDs or Blu-rays for either collecting purpose,  or for viewing purpose, or just as a gift. For those who deal with DVD or Blu-ray a lot in their daily lives, you must have heard of the term "DVD ripping", maybe you have done some "DVD ripping" works yourself. But sometimes, "DVD ripping" is considered illegal, so you might have broken the law by ripping a DVD. Is it real? Is DVD/Blu-ray ripping legal?

When a person creates his or her own DVDs that are not copies of copyrighted work, ripping is completely legal. Which rights are reserved are typically listed in the type of copyright. Very often, the original creator has to be cited. To sell these types of materials though, be sure to obtain the proper business licenses. Also, check to see if there are additional state or local laws.

However, it's stated in title 17 of the United States Code that it is illegal to reproduce a copyrighted work. If a DVD or Blu-ray  has a label on the box that indicates a copyright, then it is technically illegal to make any copies of it for any reason, thus it's illegal for anyone to rip the DVD or Blu-ray. However, does that mean anyone who rip the DVD or Blu-ray deserves to be caught?

There is a difference between ripping the work for personal use and ripping it for redistribution purpose. Technically whether for what purpose do you rip a copyright protected DVD or Blu-ray it is illegal, However, most government agencies do not focus on what people do offline at home for their own personal use. The government's main concern is people who redistribute copies of copyrighted works. That is to say, if you rip a copy protected DVD or Blu-ray, then sell it to others for profit, you should definitely expect law enforcement knocking on your door. But if you only rip the DVD or Blu-ray for personal use, chances are no one would even care about that.

So, now we seem to have a conclusion. Ripping your homemade DVD? Totally legal. Ripping copyright protected DVD for personal use? Illegal but you most likely will get away with it. Ripping DVD for redistribution purpose? Don't even think about it, you'll get busted.

Now that we know we can rip homemade DVD or rip copyright protected DVD only for personal use, the problem is, how? Copyright protected DVD are always encrypted so that normal software would not be able to crack and rip it. How do we rip copyright encrypted DVD or Blu-ray for personal use?

There is this software called Leawo Blu-ray Ripper, it can handle protected Blu-ray and rip Blu-ray to mp4, mkv, m4v, 3gp and so many other digital formats so that you can play it on all the other devices you have. It can rip DVD as well. And not only discs, if you have ISO movie file, it can also convert the file into all those digital video formats. 

As long as you do it only for personal use, you can relax and rip your DVD or Blu-ray. As far as the copyright protection is concerned, you can use Leawo Blu-ray Ripper to bypass the protection. Have fun with your movies!