copyright
Multiple duplication of CDs I own
<p>Like all other guys, I have my own collections of CDs, all legal, from official distributors, paid by money, and all belong to me.</p>

<p>I keep them in my room together with my computer. I have ripped some of them, stored them in the laptop my company gave me. I have burned some copies of them and put them in my car. I have burned some other copies and put them in my parents house, just for myself.</p>

<p>Today I suddenly start to think -- which copies are legal and which copies are not? Especially for those copies that in my parents house.</p>

<p>I live in California.</p>

<p>You may be allowed to make a single backup copy, pursuant to <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/117" rel="nofollow noreferrer">17 USC 117</a></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>it is not an infringement for the owner of a copy of a computer
  program to make or authorize the making of another copy or adaptation
  of that computer program provided:...</p>
  
  <p>(2) that such new copy or adaptation is for archival purposes only and
  that all archival copies are destroyed in the event that continued
  possession of the computer program should cease to be rightful</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Congress defined "computer program" as</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>a set of statements or instructions to be used directly or indirectly
  in a computer in order to bring about a certain result.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>At most, you could make one copy of a given CD, as long as you don't use it except to restore the original if it is damaged. Although data is not typically thought of as a "computer program", the definition of "computer program" given by congress is compatible with the nature of music CDs. It's a somewhat open question whether the courts would decide that the insides of a CD player is a "computer" (it is, with extremely limited abilities), and Congress did not define "computer" for purposes of copyright. There does not appear to be any clear case law testing whether it is legal to make a single backup copy of a music CD, so it is possible that a music CD does not meet the conditions of a "computer program".</p>

<p>The <a href="https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/01/are-personal-copies-digital-music-files-unauthorized-or-not" rel="nofollow noreferrer">RIAA position</a> on the matter about 10 years ago, based on the statement of the RIAA president, was</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>It’s OK to copy music onto an analog cassette (not for commercial
  purposes), it’s OK to copy music onto special audio CD-Rs, minidisks
  and digital tapes (but again not for commercial purposes). Beyond that
  there’s no legal “right” to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a
  CD-R, but burning a copy onto a CD-R or transferring a copy onto a
  computer hard drive or portable music player won’t usually raise
  concerns so long as the copy is made from an authorized original CD
  that you legitimately own and the copy is just for your personal use.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>However, this does not constitute giving permission by the copyright holder, even if the company distributing the work in question is a member of RIAA. </p>

<p>Along these lines, in a <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/1201/2006/reply/11metalitz_AAP.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">document filed with the copyright office</a> on behalf of the industry, pertaining to DMCA rule-making, it is maintained (p. 39) that "The making of back up copies for personal use has never been held to be a per se
noninfringing use", and "As the Register made clear in her <a href="https://www.copyright.gov/1201/docs/registers-recommendation.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">2003 Recommendation</a>, “it is not permissible to classify a work by reference to the type of user or use.”" (you can't just say "backup" and gain a fair-use defense). </p>

<p>In other words, it's not clearly legal, and it's not clearly illegal. Clarity would come if a person was sued for making a backup copy of music CDs (with no muddying of the issue, such as "and then selling it"). For non-legal reasons, it is unlikely that a case law test will emerge.</p>
