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Similarly, want to back up that legally purchased DVD before you hand it over to your eight year old? Or Copy the movie onto your laptop for later viewing? Same thing, copyright violation. Want to convert the songs on your legally purchased CD to mp3 for your mp3 player, but the CD has copy protection on it? Boom, DMCA violation.

I would never assume that it's OK to copy a DVD or CD. While it may seem reasonable to be able to make a "backup" copy, what's to stop someone from making 12 copies and selling them on eBay? I've seen plenty of fake ripoff DVD's for sale on eBay. I think that people acquire a sense of entitlement when it comes to copyrighted material. But songs and movies cost time and money to create. Where is it written that just because you pay $16 for a CD, you should be able to make another one just like it? Remember the old days, when you went to the theater and paid $20 for your family to see a movie one time? If you wanted to see it again, you had to pay another $20. We should just be happy that we can now purchase a disk and play it repeatedly for the whole clan at no additional expense.

I think the term "for commercial gain or profit" would cover a bootleg copy on E-bay. That would be clearly be a legit violation. On the other hand for private usage meaning copying a CD of your favorite hard to find music and putting the original in a safe place and using the copy in the car etc should be acceptable. If a person backs up their music library for private usage that should be allowed. Actually it has been done for decades.

Now do you want to complicate matters more? What if I want to sell my legit purchased CD to someone else? How long before a mandatory fee must be paid the artist? Why? Do I pay Chrysler one when I sell a vehicle? No the RIAA is a special lobbying group asking for unreasonable privileges and protections surpassing common sense and origional inten to such laws.

Further point. If a person copies something that is supposedly a violation right? Now if person collected oh let's say baseball cards and took pictures of them for insurance purposes, they too could find themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Where is it written that just because you pay $16 for a CD, you should be able to make another one just like it?

http://w2.eff.org/IP/eff_fair_use_faq.php

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3513_7-5128652-1.html

You have the right to do so for non-commercial use under the Fair Use doctrine. Whats to stop you from making 16 copes? Well for one its been ruled that 10 copies is commercial use. Obviously selling any copy would be considered "Commercial"