If you already own a DVD copy of a movie can you download a better quality copy without worrying about legal issues?

Answer 1

You might notice the "FBI Warnings" at the beginning of many DVD's, it is important to note that these are not put there by the FBI, they are in fact placed there by the copyright owners. Meaning, they are not necessarily true.

As the owner of the DVD, you have taken ownership of that copyrighted material. That ownership gives you a few rights. You have the right to pass ownership on to someone else (by selling the DVD or giving it away for example). You also have the right to make a backup copy of the DVD. You can also use small portions of the work for academic or non-profit purposes. To learn more read about Fair Use, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use .

Fair use may give you the right to make a backup copy of a DVD you own, but the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) may make it illegal to circumvent any preventative measures that copyright owners may include on the DVD.

If you already own a copy of a DVD, it is conceivable that you could download the exact same version of the work and have full rights to do so. However, downloading a "better quality copy" would probably entail downloading a different version (like a Blueray copy) that you do not have the rights to.

In short, downloading a "better quality copy" would likely be a copyright infringement.