how much trouble can i get in for this?

I have been using the blockbuster movie pass for about a week to back up close to 30 dvds probably, and today the bitch behind the counter asked me "so you were able to watch all these in an hour and a half?", and it pissed me off so much that i just stopped thinking and said "actually i backed them up." all of a sudden she was quiet, and then she said "you burned them?", and i just stood there. an angry look came over her face and then she said "you shouldnt have told me that." then, i took my two new movies from her, and walked out the door with her saying "have a nice day" behind me. i realized that i made a huge mistake admitting this to her, and now i'm worried about the possiblity of the authorities getting involved possibly. what is the worst thing that could happen from this situation? does blockbuster have the ability of contacting the fbi at the drop of the hat in order to bust a copyright infringer?

 

the fbi is not going to show up at your door because some blockbuster emp. calls them.you are breaking copyright laws by doing this though because you are not backing up something you already own and you have to break security measures that try to keep people from doing this.the real trouble would come if you are selling them on the street.

 

i don't think the fbi is going for such small cases. what the mpaa wants are the big torrent sites distributing the movies, making it very easy to infringe copyright laws. for all you know the lady behind the counter has done some illegal stuff herself.

 

i've seen people selling movies and they have never gotten caught. you're safe

 

i just had a friend get caught selling pirated copies of the pacifier and he got a 1000 dollar fine. i'll find out some specifics about who levied the fine and who actually caught him selling on the street.i think it was a city ordinance fine for not having some sort of liscence.not sure though.i'll ask.

 

no jail time?

 

no, i think he got a summons.

 

still sucks.

 

no shyatt,might be easier to just go get a job,huh?

 

I second that binkie7. I don't think you should go crazy renting movies, especially when it's obvious you're not watching, but burning them. Saying it to the lady's face was a mistake, just be cautious next time around.

 

oh yeah, if you're not watching them and haven't seen them before i recommend watching them first. most are just really rotten and aren't even worth it.

 

mulder05. if you scroll down to the file sharing forum you'll find it probably easier to get what you want without ever leaving the house.

 

k if ur going to burn movies,dont ever bring them back in the same hour,maybe wait a day or even in the same like 3 hours,wait until shifty change or something!!! Its just a word of advice!!

 

thank you so much everyone, i will definately sleep easier tonight! not that that is the purpose of this board, since most of you are probably up until after dawn anyways, but seriously, thanks

 

dont sleep to soundly, video libraries can and are vindictive when it comes to people burning there products as they are the eyes and ears of the movie industry and feel that they are being cheated of revenue..You should of kept silent and left it at that.What i suggest you do is stop getting your movies from there and go to another video library.It may not happen this time but you never know if they have started a file on you due to your outburst with the video retail employee.Depending on the country but most in general dont allow backing up dvds as you are breaching the encryptions to do it,So if your in america well watch out for macrovision they are total ass wipes.aT WORST YOU 'LL GET A SLAP ON THE WRIST which may be a fine or loss of computer for 1st offence .But look how they treat music file sharers especially that 12 year old .Dont presume you'll get away with it as times are changing and so are thye laws.

 

@Mulder05

No they cannot make a case to the FBI but could file a report with the local authorities. As long as you are not mass producing and selling the copies they cannot file a case against you..however they can have an in store file and watch the number of dvds you are renting per week/ month. Therefore I would suggest you not make any obvious rentals of lets say more than 3 thru 5 movies per week and take a day or 2 to return them. Otherwise the most they can do unless you are caught reproducing them is revoke your account.

 

jesus. try to be a little more subtle next time.
I'd laugh if this weren't so awfully pitiful, sorry.

 

but pretty acurate!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

 

@mulder05:

Why don't you just get a Blockbuster Online subscription? That's the route I take. ;-) It works out well.... 3 movies at time, unlimited monthly rentals. However, you might want to see if they have a distribution center fairly close to you. In my location, the distribution center is actually only a couple of hours away, so, my "mail lag" is only one day!