Is it legal to record video streams? Can it be considered as a piracy?

[Ed999]

Originally Posted by karlo2105

I don't give a damn whether it is legal or illegal to record video streams. It won't stop me to record it if I think it's worthy.

This is a common misunderstanding.

It is not the act of recording the item that is prohibited. Private use is allowed. What the section in question prohibits is selling the recording you have made.

The section bans commercial use of the recording, it does not ban making a recording that you only use yourself. If you give away the recording, as a gift, that does not amount to commercial use. It is only selling the recording - making a profit from it - that is prohibited.

[karlo2105]

Originally Posted by Ed999

This is a common misunderstanding.

It is not the act of recording the item that is prohibited. Private use is allowed. What the section in question prohibits is selling the recording you have made.

The section bans commercial use of the recording, it does not ban making a recording that you only use yourself. If you give away the recording, as a gift, that does not amount to commercial use. It is only selling the recording - making a profit from it - that is prohibited.

But when you see how copyright holders treat free download websites and streaming websites, I don't think they are happy when people download from their catchup sites. The best explanation is they enforce more and more their free video on demand sites.
I agree that making profit of someone's work without his permission should be illegal but I don't like when copyright holders treat downloaders as pirates that's why I think recording audio/video streams is rather grey zone.

[johnthumes]

Hi I am New On This Site…

[juliefunny]

I think it depends on the country you're in. Some countries have stricter laws, while others might not be as strict. Also, I think it depends on the content that you record for video streams

[Ed999]

Originally Posted by karlo2105

But when you see how copyright holders treat free download websites and streaming websites, I don't think they are happy when people download from their catchup sites. The best explanation is they enforce more and more their free video on demand sites.
I agree that making profit of someone's work without his permission should be illegal but I don't like when copyright holders treat downloaders as pirates that's why I think recording audio/video streams is rather grey zone.

Yes, I'm certain that the copyright owners are unhappy that people record their content. They were unhappy when people started using a VCR to do this, in the 1980s. They're unhappy that people nowadays use a computer to do this.

But it's not illegal. Nor is it a grey area. Copyright law only prohibits commercial use of the material, not private home use. It's thus only illegal to sell the recording, not to make it in the first place.

This is the same in the USA, in the UK, and in Australia. It is common to most countries, because most are signed up to the international Berne Copyright Convention.

[Evic1981]

i guess its a one way of piracy also..

[little rose]

It is legal to use this for personal .. and of course it may be considered as piracy if you r using it publicly

[dougkramer]

Hey Everyone! For me there's nothing wrong if you want to record streaming videos if and only if you want to use it privately. We have a thing called "Copyright". So, if you reproduce it like probably sell it, then that's the time it will be illegal.

[Alzarius]

Do you think the owners of the content actually know that you are recording a stream vs playing it in your browser? The data is sent to your computer, but how your computer processes it (playing it in a browser vs recording with ffmpeg or adobehds etc) should be a mystery, right? Or can they actually tell it's not going to your browser?

[Nick Arthur]

i think, as long as not to take for business use or profits purpose, it will not be a problem then.