CD-ROM Duplication

One of the concerns that many people have is whether the media they are duplicating is legal to copy. This is a valid concern with issues of copyright infringement covered almost daily in the news. There are specific guidelines to follow when making a copy of any sort of media.

The first thing to note is that anything created by a person can be duplicated by that person. This would include copies of non-copyrighted photos, such as family photos taken outside of a photography studio, music tracks which the duplicator holds copyright, and videos taken on a home video camera. Other sources of material available for duplication are websites that offer free downloads of music that has been authorized by the artist. Often artists want to get their music out to the general public and they allow certain websites to offer a free song or two for download. Occasionally the artist themselves will offer free music downloads on their websites. Making a copy of these songs for use in a music compilation is legal in this case.

In addition to freely given copyright-owned material, it is legal to make a copy of a CD as long as it was purchased by and is still in the possession of the owner. The Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 makes it legal for average users to make copies of the music they have bought without fear of lawsuits from the legal copyright owners. These copies are to be used as backups or for personal enjoyment, as in the case of a compilation. Under no circumstances can duplicated media be used for profit or exhibition unless explicitly authorized by the copyright holder.

Although the Audio Home Recording Act authorizes private users to make copies of their media, many recording companies make such duplication difficult. Advancements in technology have allowed them to encode each CD, making it almost impossible to copy material. In some cases, this technology interferes with the ability to play a CD on a computer.