Home / The guide / Entertainment

Check the law before copying discs you own

Copying your own CDs, DVDs or Blu-rays to a hard drive is legal in some countries and not in others. Know your local rule before you start.

How

1. US example: section 1201 of the DMCA bans getting around a technical measure that controls access to a work, such as disc encryption, unless an exemption applies. Exemptions are reviewed every three years by the Copyright Office and Librarian of Congress.
2. UK example: a private copying exception was introduced in 2014 but quashed by the High Court in July 2015, so format-shifting a CD you own became an infringement again. The government page is now withdrawn as historical, so check current UK law.
3. Other countries have their own rules, levies or exceptions. Check your national copyright office or a lawyer.
4. Where the law does not allow copying, keep the discs and a disc player instead (see entertainment-15 for power).
5. This platform does not explain how to remove DRM or disc protection, and you should never download pirated copies.

Do these first

• legal-1

Sources

1. Section 1201 of Title 17: background. US Copyright Office, accessed 2026-11
2. Quashing of private copying exception (withdrawn 2025, historical). UK Intellectual Property Office, GOV.UK, accessed 2026-11

Open in the interactive guide