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Ask Slashdot: Can I Cross US Borders With Legally Ripped Media?
First time accepted submitter ozspeed writes "I live in Australia where I've been enjoying the luxury of taking legally purchased music and film and ripping them for my personal enjoyment on my digital media devices; all legal and above board in my country. I'm about to move to the U.S. for a few years and wondered if I would get into trouble if I tried to bring them across the border with me. Any Slashdot been in a similar position, or have a good view of the law on this?" The U.S. has claimed broad data-snooping rights at the border (though some common sense may have broken out, too), but I've never heard of anyone hassled for this reason; have you?
Speaking from my own experience of crossing the border *a lot* I can't say I've ever seen or experienced even the slightest interest in my laptop or drives. Maybe they have more time at the land borders than they do at the airports I can't say. I haven't crossed at one of those in years but at the airports there's simply no time to deal with such things.
I was raised on the command line, bitch
"Nemo me impune lacesset"
My personal recommendation is don't try going through customs with a suitcase full of CDs. They won't check your laptop, most likely. If you're shipping a bunch of stuff, I don't know what they do there. The best way to bring your stuff over is probably digitally, via some server, where you never have to bother with customs. As for legality? I don't know, but we get away with a lot of stuff. The people who get in trouble here are the people who either sell or share. If you're doing neither of those things, you're generally safe.
Don't they have FTP in Australia?
BTW, I would advise against moving to the US. Would you move to East Germany "for a few years?"
they can't check.
they know they can't check.
that is not what they're looking for if they're checking your backpack.
now.. if you got loads of obviously pirated cd's - not homeburn! - but commercial asia type pirate cd's.. they'll snatch 'em if they see 'em. because that is how the customs crews are trained.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
For the record, I'm an Australian who lives in NYC. I'm very familiar with the policies of both countries.
Australia has some backwards format-shifting laws, prohibiting ripping DVDs under all circumstances for example, so it's inaccurate to pain Australia as better than the US in that regard. We can rip VHS though.
Basically, it's illegal to upload and distribute stuff, or to be making money off ripped items. If you just have stuff ripped for yourself, they are not going to care. If you're really concerned, put it all on a harddrive. If you're really, really concerned, encrypt that harddrive. If you're really, really, really, really concerned upload it and download it later. Internet speed is pretty fucking fast here.
Of course, having gone through customs numerous times with hundreds of burned DVDs, I don't think there is much cause for concern. I'd be much more worried about the UK.
If you ignore ACs because they are anonymous - you're an idiot.
Next question?
I don't believe it's illegal, but IANAL (I am not a lawyer). Plus, even if it isn't, some border agent that doesn't know the law could still make your life miserable. Easier solution, create a hidden Truecrypt volume.
Somebody seems to have learned everything he knows about America from Slashdot.....
Back it up with an online backup service such as backblaze.com then when you reach your destination, do a restore.
But check you can do the restore before you make the journey.
Encrypt it. All of it. With a long password. And don't give them your password if they ask.
sudo make me a sandwich
If they have no other reason to search your computer, then there is probably a 99% chance that no one will even ask you to turn on your laptop.
On the other hand, if they do have some reason to give your more scrutiny than the average Australian, it may be worth it to prepare for your computer to be searched and/or confiscated. The worst that will probably happen is that you may never see your computer again (or you may get it back after 6 to 12 months, maybe damaged).
I don't think I've ever heard of an instance of someone's computer being searched, pirated digital media being found, and then them being prosecuted for copyright infringement. Is it theoretically possible? Sure. Is it remotely likely? No, not unless they want to get you for something else, but that's all they can make stick.
What I wouldn't do is burn all your media to DVD-Rs with handwritten labels and stuff those in your bag, since that makes it look like you want to sell fake movies for $3 on a street corner, and the government believes that helps fund terrorism.
If you really care that much, maybe dump it all in a TrueCrypt partition, or delete it all and pirate it when you get here, or just leave your hard drive at home and have someone snail-mail it to you. I'd say simply send the data over the Internet once you arrive, but being Australia, I'm guessing you might not have the bandwidth or transfer limits to make that feasible.
"Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
border control mostly cares about plants, animals, insects, large amounts of precious metals, illegal drugs, kiddie porn
no one cares about you carrying around ripped music and movies
i've traveled around the world and from all the nonsense you read about US law enforcement i've had less trouble at US Customs than almost anywhere in the world. including Europe.
I cross the US/Mexico border by land every day and I have had work colleagues tell me at least on two occasions that they have had their legit CDs confiscated from their cars, apparently because they were out of their jewel cases. I one case, the CDs were of dubious origin, but it shows that they do pay attention to such things and that apparently they think think they work for the RIAA rather than the HSA.
None however have told me their digital devices were inspected for illegal music, and interestingly both colleagues who were hassled were Mexican nationals. Profiling, anyone?
Standard "IANAL, TINLA" disclaimer...
My LOGIC goes like this: the DMCA prohibits the act of running DeCSS. If you run a decryption program that spits out a standard ISO/MP4/XviD file, and you're legally entitled to enjoy the content that you purchased, I can't see there being an issue with it.
Frankly, unless you're on a watch list for something else, or acting completely suspicious, I can't see that they would bother you. I've made several international flights in the past 2 years, and each time I've just given over my customs declaration form, which wasn't looked at, and waved on through.
Of course, now the NSA is probably going to tip of ICE to your evil plot to bring illict digital copies of 'Men at Work' records into the US.
Is your name Julian Assange or Edward Snowden? You're probably okay if not...
If heroin was legal in your country, do you think it would be legal for you to cross into the US with it?
No, of course not. Because heroin is illegal in the US. Next question: if cotton shirts were legal in your country, do you think it would be legal for you to cross into the US with it?
What a stupid question.
Your question was rather stupid. The original question is still valid.
1) The law in the US is becoming above the law
2) You poor bastard.
3) all other questions refer to #1
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
If they have no other reason to search your computer, then there is probably a 99.999% chance that no one will even ask you to turn on your laptop.
FTFY.
Not too many home connections in the US would make that feasible either, assuming we are talking about multi-terabytes of data. Upload speeds generally suck residential connections in both countries (some exceptions exist: FiOS in the US and any NBN or Telstra Velocity FTTH connection in Australia).
I wouldn't even bother with the TrueCrypt - if they discover the partition, it might just attract further checks.
If you're really worried about it, put everything on a drive and send it ahead of you via the post.
It sounds like your practice of copying CDs for your own enjoyment is legal in the US as well. This would fall under "Fair Use"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use
Put all that stuff on micro-sdhc cards (32gb each), and put them in your socks. Just don't look nervous when you are "interrogated" by customs and immigration on arrival... :-) In any case, leave the porn at home, and bring receipts to prove you legally purchased the cruft just in case.
There is nothing illegal about possessing music and movies in the US, regardless of where you got them.
Yours is a stupid answer. It's a legal copy of a copyrighted work, and the US does recognize the concept of legal copies of copyrighted works.
Also note that heroin is legal in the US. You just have to have a DEA license to handle it. (And there are probably rules regarding its prescription and administration - I'm neither a doctor nor an American to know these minutiae.) The question of importing it is a completely different one, just like with, say, importing food as a tourist (it's not because food is illegal).
Ezekiel 23:20
There is nothing illegal about possessing music and movies in the US, regardless of where you got them.
But is there a law against importing music and movies for personal use? That's what the poster really needs to know.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
Upload it to a server then download it once you get here. Far better than dealing with the hassle that is U.S. Customs. You then have digital backups as well, win, win!
Use the hidden partition. They can't prove it's there. Dump stuff you wouldn't want a complete stranger to see in there, like receipts for all your electronics (silly example). If they insist on brute-forcing it to check for a hidden partition, wish them luck.
What exactly qualifies as "importing" in the US? If you're a tourist and you're travelling with a camera, do you have to pay an import duty at arrival and an export duty at your departure?
Ezekiel 23:20
Damn, "In there" being the decoy partition.
I travel into and out of the USA all the time with thousands of songs, dozens of movies and hundreds of books as pdfs for my personal amusement and edification, and it's all on a hard drive the size of a deck of cards. Why would you bring disks? They're bulky! Just dump it all on a TB drive - it'll cost what, $90? Stupendously more convenient.
Shoes for Industry. Shoes for the Dead.
My question would be is are they really going to search you for ripped media? i would think they would be looking for drugs and weapons over dvds to be honest. I think just having your movies on a laptop should be fine, portable hdd better, and on an ipod/iphone or some kind of mp3/4 player would be better (you can even watch them during your trip overseas).. If you have a large collection of burned movies on some type of media, then i would think about getting it all into digital form. SD cards can hold a large amount of data these days, and if you have a digital camera, just load the sd up with whatever, and pop it in your camera when you travel. I would say you have nothing to worry about. Or if its easier, you can mail your stuff to yourself at your new address in the US, this way you are not in possession of any type of media while going through customs.
You may have to pay duties on anything that will remain in the US. If you are bringing something in and taking it with you when you leave, you do not need to declare it.
Do it. Don't worry. EDM DJ's travel with bags of ripped CDs and ripped music on laptops all the time. Many of these guys are crossing international borders weekly, and I have yet to hear of anyone having any trouble with it. I've heard of people being detained from time to time, but it's never because of ripped music.
The originals are often to rare and valuable to carry around with them.
or look backwards for it arriving tomorrow.
Though of course if you're dumb enough to voluntarily declare such activity, I'm sure you'll tip them off. ICE isn't there to be your friends, the less you say the better, and the sooner you and others waiting behind you can cross.
Bad analogy. There is nothing illegal in the US about owning a rip of a DVD. In fact, the law specifically states you are allowed one (1) copy for backup purposes. Unless you're downloading stuff in front of the customs officer, what is he going to do? Of course if your computer loads utorrent when started, and you have files on your HD saying stuff like "thanks for downloading warez at xxx.net site", then that might be incriminating enough - IANAL. But just having the rip? Rename it to "SomeMovie(Backup).avi" or whatever and you're 100% covered.
Using your example, it's more akin to you crossing the border while under the influence of heroin. So long as you don't act in an intoxicated/disorderly manner, there is no law against being high. The laws cover possession, distribution and sale.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I don't think carrying personal belongings counts as importing, unless the items are going to remain in the US when you leave. At least, that is what the customs declaration form says.
If they have no other reason to search your computer, then there is probably a 99% chance that no one will even ask you to turn on your laptop.
Off-topic, but I've only once been asked to boot up my computer, on a flight out of Italy. Later, on the plane, the passenger next to me tried to boot up her PC, and it kept crashing. She had forced a shutdown mid-boot after the security check and corrupted her boot sector. The ironic bit was that she was a consultant with a certain Big Blue IT company.
This was around the time when they started getting concerned about the threat of false laptops with explosives instead of batteries, so I'm guessing this was a common policy for about three weeks, before the complaints from major corporations about the lost productivity of their mobile workforce started rolling in....
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
If you're a tourist and you're travelling with a camera, do you have to pay an import duty at arrival and an export duty at your departure?
If your name is Art Vandelay, it's the cost of doing business.
"food" is too broad a term. A person cannot, for instance, bring fruits, vegetables and meat products into the US when travelling as a tourist, though there are legal means for importing such foods, but it is allowed to bring some processed foods either in their original sealed/closed packaging or even if they are open.
I usually buy snacks for travelling, and have many times, flown to the US with a bag of chips, cookies, chocolate, and other such things, and have never ever been in any kind of problem with the Customs officers in JFK, MIA, HOU, ATL, FLL or SJU airports. I once flew to the US from Aruba (fun times) and they have the US Immigration and Customs offices right in the Aruba airport, no problem there either.
Also, the amount of food I was "importing" would fall within the reasonable limits of personal consumption, I was clearly not doing business with potato chips.
Point is, you can bring some food items with you as a tourist, but not just any kind of food.
Why would they care that you're bringing a hard drive? Why would they bother to look at it, let alone make you turn your computer on, attach it to the hard drive and look at its contents? I'm with basically everyone else: just don't bring a pile of dvds that look like bootlegs. If you really want to bring a pile of dvds, you're still probably fine as long as they don't look like bootlegs you bought from a bootlegger... but why would you bring piles of dvds, as opposed to just leaving them digital on a hard drive?
Just leave your passport at home and you will be welcomed with open arms. Just make sure you get here by illegally crossing the southern border.
Hell, in a few weeks you will even be granted citizenship.
Oh, you viscious b******s. I know illegal immigration is a serious offence, but that sentence is just disproportionate to the crime. What next, the death penalty for children who shoplift sweets?!?
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
I was in your situation a couple of months ago. I'm an Australian who's just moved (April 2013) to the US for at least a few years, maybe longer. I also had a lot of media on me when I crossed the border (ripped or otherwise). I don't think you will have any problems unless you literally had half a suitcase filled with dodgy-looking burnt DVDs (which looks like piracy and shows up easily on Xray).
Carry your stuff in on a removable hard drive or two or on a laptop and you will just blend in with the millions of other business travellers who enter and exit the US with laptops/storage devices/other computer peripherals every week. Airports are busy places (especially in the US where they seem to be chronically under-staffed compared to Australia), and customs have bigger fish to fry. They are looking for threats to agriculture/disease/pests and illicit drugs, mostly. If you look like a regular dude with a laptop they won't hassle you at all.
And 'welcome' to the US - it can be a pretty frustrating place as a new resident (trust me on this - US systems and processes seem not to consider 'foreigner' or non-resident alien as a use case so it's a complete nightmare doing even mundane daily tasks, until you get a local drivers licence, a SSN etc. Also in most states they won't recognise your existing Australian licence as equivalent, so you'll have to do a driving test to get a local one, hooray. And they don't give a toss about your credit history either so have fun applying for a rental apartment/getting a loan/even getting approved for a contract cell phone etc.)
But bear with it. After a few months once you jump through all the bureaucratic hoops things get a lot easier. Doing stuff here (at any level of government or even within private companies) is inconsistent, arbitrary, piecemeal. But once you're set up and good to go, it's a good place to live. Though you'll want to get a VPN back to Australia to get a fix of decent TV or radio news (ABC, SBS or otherwise) - 'news' here on all networks is mind-numbingly dumbed down and locally-focused.
It's personal property. It's not contraband. You are allowed to own back-up copies of your CD's and DVD's. Do you really think that they would make everyone empty out their iphones and mp3 players, or go through them track by track to see if they match a purchase at the itunes store or whatever? No. Well actually the way the US is acting nowadays - maybe...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
No.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
1. Wear dark glasses
2. Sweat a lot
3. Sniffle and wipe your nose often
4. Drink a six pack of Red Bull beforehand
5. Don't check any bags
6. Stutter when you answer questions
7. Wear a hat pulled low
8. Be swarthy
9. Carry a lot of cash
10. Don't look like your passport photo
And that's pretty much all you need to know to get through US customs if you're Australian.
I know for a fact that heroin is used in UK hospitals. I'm not sure about the US though, I think they don't hand out too many "licenses" for it, rather preferring the other drugs like meperidine, fentanyl, morphine, etc. I'm a doctor - but not a US doctor.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Well at the time I got admission to PhD program in USA I wanted to bring those ripped books along, naturally. But was deathly afraid the immigration officer would find these books, and mark me a flagrant violator of copyright, a person unworthy of admission to a great American university, and do in his best soup nazi voice, "no visa to you" and send me back. So I shipped them all using surface mail and crossed the border without any contraband.
That is how I got the U S Federal Government, to aid and abet my flagrant and willful violation of copyright and the intellectual property of the text book companies of America. The poor postal worker lugged that entire box a flight of stairs up and deposited the treasure in my doorstep, some four months later! All those books, Aircraft Performance Stability and Control by Perkins and Hage, Hale, McCormick, Atkins, Timoshenko, Nicholai, and so many other goodies are still in the bottom shelf of my office. I recently had to look one up to understand quarternions, to implement some rigid body transformation of coordinate systems!
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Your safest bet would be to stay home. As soon as you enter the US, all your digital devices automatically hook up to a special network run by the US government and transmit all the information about your digital media, your street drug use, sexual behavior, thoughts you thought or ever thought about thinking and if there's any red flags you'll be arrested as soon as the border agent scans your I-94 form.
True, if you're going to do it, do it that way. My point was more that I don't think it's worth it in the first place. If you have a volume already set up for other purposes by all means, but personally I wouldn't go to the trouble if I was in the OP's situation.
What matters is whether or not you're a person of interest. Does the US government have any reason it might want to harrass you?
If not, then you should be fine.
If so, then they'll find some reason to do so. Your music files or lack thereof, won't significantly modify the chances of this happening.
The law is irrelevant. And also supreme. You will almost certainly be breaking many laws, which nobody ever heard of, and almost never get enforced.
"Believe me!" -- Donald Trump
Sounds about right :)
Quidnam Latine loqui modo coepi?
I'm not convinced that's even remotely true.
Since ICE is under DHS, and they've basically said they can search your laptops ... it falls within the mandate of ICE to now police copyright.
I can entirely believe that (if not now, soon), they might start saying that if you've got ripped media you can get detained. Once your border folks are an extension of policing copyright for industry, this is an entirely plausible scenario.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
1. get a laptop that has 2 drive bays
2. put a clean windows install in the master bay, put your real drive in the slave bay
3. if they want to see your laptop boot it to the clean windows and let them poke it, you have nothing to hide right?
4. at the hotel switch your drives back and use your computer, make sure to switch back before you leave the country
Anyone who knows enough about computers to know this is possible isn't working a job where they have to deal with smelly foreigners all day.
If you are super paranoid back up your real drive at home and encrypt the whole thing you are carrying, then if they catch the 2nd drive you can say it isn't formatted.
Or encrypt your real drive and ship it to the hotel.
As an American who travels with some frequency, I'm more familiar than most with how onerous airport security has gotten, and my encounters with border control at numerous other countries have left me saddened at how poorly ours tends to measure up (in terms of politeness, common sense, etc.) Likewise, the US Copyright Act needs a massive overhaul, and the statutory penalties for relatively minor violations need to be completely re-worked, if not abolished -- the current copyright enforcement regime is abhorrent to anyone with a modicum of common decency.
All of that said, this anti-America stuff is getting seriously circlejerky. You're seriously worried about getting hassled for bringing personal-use copies of legally-acquired media into the US? Seriously?? Are you actually that ignorant about US copyright law (I suppose one could be forgiven, somewhat, for trusting anonymous internet-dwellers who would have you believe the police break down people's doors to search for stolen digital media and similar nonsense) or are you just flamebaiting?
You're far more likely to be pulled aside for being a dick to customs agents -- and if you are flamebaiting, I'd put your chances at about 50/50 there -- than for a random screening to see if you were trying to import contraband. And even then, even if they pulled you aside for enhanced screening and opened up your computer and held you for hours searching through everything you had in your possession, even then you would still have nothing to fear, assuming all of the digital media you're referring to are actually personal-use copies of legally-acquired media as you state. US and Australian copyright law aren't that different.
Seriously folks, the melodrama is getting out of hand.
Actually, because the US is one of the few countries that tax their citizens' worldwide income (even those who have permanently left the US), a foreigner or short-term resident being 'given' US citizenship is indeed a bit of a punishment. They'll have the 'fun' of filling out US tax returns for the rest of their life.
First, encrypt your stuff with a key that is encrypted with a pass phrase you can remember. Then upload your encrypted stuff to some cloud storage in Europe. Then transfer your encrypted stuff to some cloud storage in USA. Then move to USA carrying normal things loaded with common stuff not encrypted. Once settled in and acquired high speed internet, download your stuff from the cloud storage in USA.
You have to be careful in any English speaking country (and a few others).
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Now that you've told them, by posting online, that you are worried about it, they will probably hassle you for the fun of it.
"thanks for downloading warez at xxx.net site" ... IANAL.
Heh heh heh he heh he heh heh heh he he heh heh he heh
---
ECHELON is a government program to find words like bomb, jihad, plutonium, assassinate, and anarchy.
MP3 rips are legal in the US too, y'know. As are digital video files...
+1 Disagree
Just leave your passport at home and you will be welcomed with open arms. Just make sure you get here by illegally crossing the southern border.
Hell, in a few weeks you will even be granted citizenship.
Oh, you viscious b******s. I know illegal immigration is a serious offence, but that sentence is just disproportionate to the crime. What next, the death penalty for children who shoplift sweets?!?
I'm curious, what sentence are you referring to? Are you referring to free access to welfare, or are you referring to deportation? I'm not sure what you mean by disproportionate sentence? Just for the record, only in the US can you illegally cross into the country and be given work and allowed to go onto the welfare rolls. Then, you can live in a sanctuary city and live without paying any federal or state taxes. Boy, the punishment is really severe!!!
One word: encryption. TrueCrypt is one of the few encryption packages that have not given Big Brother a back door.
I have crossed the US border with both legally ripped and pirated music on my phone, and no one arrested me. I even returned, and no one arrested me. No one gives two fucks about anything but drugs and weapons at the border, and it is probably legal anyway.
Canada customs is prone to view every image and every PDF on your computer, and hassle you for that cool lockpicking manual you found.
Well, you could do worse than to look at 17 USC sections 106(3), 602, 109, 107, and the recent Kirtsaeng decision from the US Supreme Court (find that here: http://www2.bloomberglaw.com/public/mobile/document/Kirtsaeng_v_John_Wiley__Sons_Inc_No_11697_2013_BL_71417_US_Mar_19/1 )
-- This and all my posts are in the public domain. I am a lawyer. I am not your lawyer, and this is not legal advice.
Creating "back ups" of your copyrighted data is legal, but copying the data is not legal, which creates a chicken and egg issue. But if the copy was created where it was legal, the copy itself is fine for personal use.
explosives instead of batteries? I thought that the batteries exploded often enough without our help.
In fact, the law specifically states you are allowed one (1) copy for backup purposes
According to any good admin, it's not backed-up until you have 3 copies, with at least one copy on a different media than the other 2.
ZIP or TAR your files, convert them to base64, print the resulting text, fax it to the US, print again, ocr the text, convert back to binary and unpack.
It's done before to legally get stuff out of the US. Must be good enough for reversed process. Dead easy.
(Kiddin' aside, I've done similar shit to circumvent idiotic security policies. Never had more fun with PuTTY and uuencode.)
I hadn't the slightest objection to his spending his time planning massacres for the bourgeoisie... (P.G. Wodehouse)
(ianal) There have been court decisions that make media shifting very specifically legal. The main problem for US consumers is that it does nothing about the issues of breaking DRM to make your media shifted file. I don't know if the files you got in Australia were protected by DRM or if breaking it to media shift is legal there or not.
Of course there are two more points to look out for:
First of all, the customs agents, tsa, and anybody else, have no idea how you got those files, and it's extremely doubtful they'll ask.
Second, if they get a wild hair or just don't like you, they'll jack you up for fun. They are total assholes about that, despite what the law and their own regulations say. You can't trust them with anything.
Even before they became as psychotic as they are now, this was years ago, one of the agents almost destroyed a $700 program because the dumbfuck slid open the protective slider on a 3.5" disk and was about to touch the recording material itself. I yelled him up one side and down the other, grabbed my disks from him and stalked off leaving him dumbfounded and shellshocked. If that were to happen these days, I'm sure I'd be locked in a small hole somewhere without a trial.
As a side note here, yes, there are reasonable, responsible, and rational people working for both customs and the tsa. The problem is there aren't enough of those types, and we still have to put up with the jackboot thugs with an inflated sense of authority and no respect for the laws.
Wow, I'm in a bitchy mood this morning
Regarding the heroin, does one not "possess" the contents of one's body?
Could be pedantic, but given the potential invasiviness of police encounters (you certainly own the alcohol in your blood) I don't think it is.
As well, public intoxication is illegal where I live, regardless of how you act (although acting normally shouldn't get you caught).
Anyway, interesting thought.
BlameBillCosby.com
"Passport please."
*swipe*
*clickity-clack*
*suspicious glance*
...
"Mr. Smith? Do you go by the online handle ozspeed?"
...
*Stamp* "Please follow Agent Proubb to the digital goods inspection station."
Moving to a new country and all he cares about is music and movies. Get a life brah.
Perhaps he cares about his life (not minutia such as music and movies), and he's heard stories about how "in someone's pocket" are the world's law enforcement agencies via its politicians and their lobbyists. Check a dictionary for the meaning of the word capricious. The last time I went through Customs, they confiscated my screwdriver and pair of pliers. They ignored the multitool with a three inch razor sharp blade hanging on my belt.
I don't feel safe anymore, and it's not terrorists that are causing it. OP is just being prudent in recognizing what's SOP these days. It's very gray out there in many ways, especially around border crossings.
"Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit
Hide your music inside pictures of naked children.
I believe internal possession laws (for alcohol, at least) vary depending on the jurisdiction.
I'm not convinced that's even remotely true.
Since ICE is under DHS, and they've basically said they can search your laptops ... it falls within the mandate of ICE to now police copyright.
I can entirely believe that (if not now, soon), they might start saying that if you've got ripped media you can get detained. Once your border folks are an extension of policing copyright for industry, this is an entirely plausible scenario.
that's not what I meant. I meant they can't check if it's legally ripped or not.
world was created 5 seconds before this post as it is.
Even if we ignore that fact that is it simply never safe to cross US boarders.
And ignore weither or not it is legal to own and transport ripped media (it might no longer be legally ripped in the US).
You are will stuck with the fact that it is not safe to carry any digital data across the US boarder.
As much as possible you might just want to transfer the data electronically.
Troll is not a replacement for I disagree.
Honestly, everyone is giving the worst advice.
Just ship it to your destination via FedEX or DHL. All problems solved.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
Based on my travel experience (2 trips to North America, 1 to the Middle East), nobody really cares about the contents of your laptop. Come on, it's not 1998, pirating stuff over the internet is a lot easier than bothering to carry it physically.
What customs are usually interested about is
1) Large quantities of identical stuff which may be contraband
2) Illegal items, which oddly enough includes most food. Also drugs, firearms, etc.
Security may check your laptop to detect any unaccounted cavities which can carry contraband or explosives - my laptop was coming apart and security looked really concerned and ran it through quite a few extra tests.
Customs may want to check any software you may be importing for sale, but the nature of your visit must hint you may be carrying such stuff - like being a contractor who is visiting the US to install & configure software.
If you're just a tourist they're not going to look, not even in random searches. It's difficult to determine or prove the files are not legal under US law right in the airport. You should only be concerned if you were previously convicted for piracy or have a strong reason for having your laptop searched, like being a spy, terrorist or Julian Assange.
Probably more reliable than most of the explosives-based bomb plots in recent years.... (see also "shoe bomber", "underpants bomber")
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
A lot of legal immigrants (including me) have had the experience that illegals got citizenship through amnesty faster and easier than going through the legal process. Are you going to defend that as good policy?
Vanderhoth is dead on. Ripping a DVD is against the law in the US. The Digital Millenium Copyright act expressly forbids breaking encryption to access content. There are exceptions for security researchers. That said, DVD ripping by ordinary individuals for format shifting and back up is not prosecuted in and of itself. Share the stuff? You can get in all kinds of legal hot water. Lawsuits and prosecution.
Ripping a non-copy-protected Red Book cd that you own is perfectly legal -- provided you do not share the file. No encryption. No crime. First sale doctrine applies.
I travel to and from the US from overseas frequently. Only once in 20 years was I ever polled concerning the contents of my laptop. The US Customs agent asked me if there was any x-rated material on it. I answered truthfully that there was not. He was trolling for a demeanor hit and would have probably looked at my content for illegal porn had he not been satisfied by my confident negative answer. By the way, having even US-legal porn on the laptop can still get you in big trouble in the Middle East so be aware. Even silly rags like Maxim are trouble. Also mind what you eat, kids. Traveling to Dubai? Skip that poppy seed bagel in Sydney airport.. Really.
Bottom line, however? The posters are generally right. US Customs is not concerned about the technically illegal DVD rips on your hard drive. They probably would do nothing even if they found them. But, and here's the thing. If you are going to feel guilty and worried about that questionable content then leave it behind. You will ruin your flight. Your nerves might show as you cross the frontier and draw unwarranted attention. The fact that you even asked this question shows that this is a source of anxiety for you. You have your answer. Go in peace. Walk in beauty.
"No fear. No envy. No meanness." Liam Clancy
Oh, sorry about that.
But, really, as far as the media companies are concerned, there is no 'legally ripped' as they don't recognize your right to format shift music you have purchased. So from their perspective, the border folks should be charging you with violating the DMCA.
Cynically, I wouldn't be surprised if the *AAs have been trying to make it illegal to be in possession of DRM-free MP3s and movies under the assumption you must have broken the law to have them.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
1) Copy files onto new HDD
2) backup partition table and post online somewhere
3) wipe partition table
4) place 'blank' HDD with all your other parts.
Later, download your partition table backup and restore it. to access your files.
Are you referring to free access to welfare,
Welfare? You have that there now?
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
You can do anything as long as you don't get caught.
Statistics like "99%" are always made-up.
Cool. That means I can leave my CD collection at home from now on. It's a pain to carry 2,000 CDs on the motorcycle when I'm traveling in Canada, let me tell you. ;)
[John]
Shit better not happen!
How brown are you?
Well, you can renounce your US citizenship if you get tired of it.
Export duties are unconstitutional. Objects imported for re-export are not subject to duty (odd example: a diamond to be used as the lens on a Venus probe was imported without customs duties, because the probe was one-way), either.
A brand new camera purchased out of the US would obviously be of interest to the Customs Inspectors. An old one, too, although at a lower valuation (people wanting European luxury cars used to be told to take a trip there, buy it, and drive it for a few weeks so that it was legally a used car, rather than new, then ship it home).
More to the ozspeed's question, if it could be shown that the ripped music would be legally ripped in the USA (eg, your children playing music from the 19th century) you would be fine. Your rip of a Metallica CD, even with the CD beside it, would probably not qualify. Best bet would be to import just the original media, and equipment capable of re-ripping them, like a source-appropriate VCR or DVD player.
I don't think you need to make any consideration for bringing ripped music across the border. US customs are not going to search your computer or devices for illegal content. There is simply not enough time in a year to do this for every person entering the country.
I can't believe the amount of FUD being spread in this thread.
I haven't thought of anything clever to put here, but then again most of you haven't either.
(And there are probably rules regarding its prescription and administration - I'm neither a doctor nor an American to know these minutiae.)
Heroin can never be prescribed for a patient (nor marijuana nor LSD) according to Federal regs. It *can* be used for research purposes, but those licenses are harder to get than one for a working 50 caliber machine gun with ammo. Importing nuclear weapons might be easier (we had a project to import Russian surplus nukes to be spread into our reactor fuel), but I would not bet either way on the question.
If you are really worried about it, just ship the media to yourself. FedEx, DHL, whatever.
Sure. Just go grocery shopping and you'll see your tax dollars at work in the checkout line. The problem I have with ever-expanding government food programs is that it drives the prices up for those of us living independently.
Make an online backup.
Buy a cheap hard drive.
Remove yours.
Install windows on new hard drive
mail old one to your new address.
???
Problem solved.
New Zealand has similar format shifting exceptions to the Copyright Act however this exemption does NOT exist in the US. If it's against US law you are vulnerable to prosecution, don't take the risk. Don't take the media through US customs (who will want your finger prints anyway).
Copy the data, encrypt the drive and get a friend/family member to courier the encrypted copy to you later.
Regards Sinesurfer A Nerd is someone who lives for technology, A Geek is someone who lives for technology and loves it
Your rip of a Metallica CD, even with the CD beside it, would probably not qualify.
What is the reasoning behind this? Because it would be considered an illegal item, or because you'd have to pay import duty for it?
Ezekiel 23:20
It is not illegal to have media that you owned in one form and converted to another. According to the DMCA circumventing the DRM is illegal, but at the same time in the US you have the legal right to convert your copyrighted material from one media to another; it is fair use. Don't worry about it; they will never arrest you for it. At worst (which really might be pretty bad, just depends) they will throw it away, but to arrest you for it they would have to prove that you converted media you did not own.
But is there a law against importing music and movies for personal use? That's what the poster really needs to know.
I moved from Europe to the US in 2010, moved my entire household. When the movers came, I filled out a detailed form and disclaimer that everything that went into the container were personal, non-commerical and used household items. Interestingly, on the blacklist were drugs, alcohol and porn :-)
Seven weeks later, everything was cleared by customs and delivered. I doubt that they will check the contents of your harddisks.
I'm not a complete idiot... Some parts are missing.
Cynically, I wouldn't be surprised if the *AAs have been trying to make it illegal to be in possession of DRM-free MP3s and movies under the assumption you must have broken the law to have them.
That ship has sailed, what with DRM-free MP3s available on iTunes and Amazon. Unless those files have some unalterable metadata, there's no way for a border patrol agent to know how they were obtained.
my, your, his/her/its, our, your, their
I'm, you're, he's/she's/it's, we're, you're, they're
You can, but the IRS says you still have to pay taxes for 7 years after you renounce it...
You are thus already on the watch list.
So, I can speak from plenty of experience. I cross the US / Canadian boarder daily, as I work in the USA and live in Canada. They won't give you any issues with 'media' you have unless you make a point to show them there is something they might not like. Just make sure to have a declaration of all your goods you intend to bring into the country, especially expensive elctronics, serial numbers, model numbers and the like. Get greet card cards for them, if that's possible in Australia. Also, a simply solution if you're paranoid like me? Encrypt your drives. It's your own personal data, nobody has the right or need to view the contents of your hard drives. People need to be reminded it's not the right of the government to be 'big brother', despite what the NSA is doing lately. All of my computing devices and date are encrypted (even my phone and tablet).
If you get caught with fake rolex watches or other contraband, you could get in trouble. So it all depends on weather ripped music could be considered to fall into this category. And where the line is. What if you have songs illegally downloaded from P2P networks? Would that be considered contraband? If that's illegal, how do you prove your music came from an actual CD you own? It's the same kind of mp3/aac file.
Anyway, my personal suspicion is that they'll only give you trouble if they have some other "real" reason to give you trouble. If they had to arrest all tourists who have music on their laptops, they would have a lot of work on their hands.
But if you're not sure and want to play it 100% safe, save all your music on some cloud or other server, wipe it off your hard disk, then download it once you're in the US.
I do believe there is provisions for backup and personal use. Like converting movies so you can see them on your phone, etc. I am not an expert, but I do remember something to say that it is legal.
...people wanting European luxury cars used to be told to take a trip there, buy it, and drive it for a few weeks so that it was legally a used car, rather than new, then ship it home...
Some companies still are...
"Don't meddle in the affairs of a patent dragon, for thou art tasty and good with ketchup." ~ohcrapitssteve
Part of me understands why you'd ask, but part of me realizes that this is mostly just anti-America bashing you're doing before you even move here. Great way to start off things.
I'm American. I travel internationally at times. I bring ripped CDs with me to listen to in an old portable CD player I have that also plays MP3 tracks on CDs so that's what I mean by bringing "ripped CDs" with me. I went to China in 2011 and it was for less than a week for tourism. I had no business at all there. I had been to China a year earlier, also for tourism not business. I had another Chinese visa in my passport for a trip that was actually not ever taken (long story not relevant here). When I got back to the US from my 2011 trip, the guy at Passport Control at my US airport was obviously a naturalized citizen. He was Afro-Carribean (I could tell by his speech) and he decided that he had found himself a smuggler who was bringing herbs illegally into the USA because I had 3 Chinese visas in my passport and he didn't like my reason for going there (tourism) and he was sure I was lying. So he took that entrance card we all have to fill out on the plane and show at Passport Control and specially marked it. I was actually a bit amused by this because I knew it would be a complete and utter waste of time for them to go through my baggage, so I went over to the special area. A young guy asked me if was bringing back any herbs or medicine and I said "No". He went through all of my luggage and he was quite a bit annoyed at having to search them because - wait for it- he found nothing I wasn't allowed to bring back and I had no herbs or medicine. He did ask about my CDs and tried to get me to admit that they were "counterfeit" but I told him that I ripped them myself and he let it go. So unless you do something to call attention to yourself at Passport Control, they're not going to go through your luggage. If they're on a phone or iPod, I have never heard of those being confiscated.
The DMCA in the USA does explicitly forbid breaking anti-copy mechanisms to rip even your own purchased discs, but nobody ever gets held accountable for doing this for personal use because the MPAA greatly fears another court case that would make the process legal akin to the famous "Betamax case" that legalized home VCR use in the USA. So the reality is that nobody in Passport Control gives a crap nor will they confiscate your ripped music or films.
Since heroine is both more effective and less toxic than morphine in humans the only reason to keep prescribing morphine is to prevent drug abuse and raids on hospitals. I long for the day it becomes medication you can just get a prescription for as needed.
Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)
What the hell is a CD? Who still uses them for music? For your next trick, are you going to ask where to find a Sony Discman?
If anybody seriously thinks customs agents are searching everybody's ipods and such to see, then they are simply delusional.
Well, you could do worse than to look at 17 USC sections 106(3), 602, 109, 107, and the recent Kirtsaeng decision from the US Supreme Court (find that here: http://www2.bloomberglaw.com/public/mobile/document/Kirtsaeng_v_John_Wiley__Sons_Inc_No_11697_2013_BL_71417_US_Mar_19/1 [bloomberglaw.com] )
So, that's the tale of somebody who was challenged on his right to dispose of books that he lawfully had sent to him from outside the country.
He had to go all the way to the Supreme Court to get the adverse claim dismissed.
Is that much like an enouraging example??
Or is it to tell the OP that he needs to get used to the custom of treating law-courts as a kind of social meeting-place?
-wb-
In fact, the law specifically states you are allowed one (1) copy for backup purposes
According to any good admin, it's not backed-up until you have 3 copies, with at least one copy on a different media than the other 2.
Don't forget to keep at least one backup off site...so, at a friends house? :o)
"I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
But, really, as far as the media companies are concerned, there is no 'legally ripped' as they don't recognize your right to format shift music you have purchased.
Interesting. Not long ago I got a credit for a free MP3 from Amazon for using the app store for my Android devices. After going through the signup process for this Amazon Cloud thing, as if by magic almost every CD I have ever bought from Amazon showed up on my desktop system as MP3s. They don't seen to have any DRM on them, they play on everything I tried them on.
What was that about no recognition of format shifting? I didn't even have to do the shifting, Amazon did it for me.
My guess is that every doctor is licensed for it. At least every doctor (MD, DO) in the US gets a DEA number that allows them to prescribe (and dispense if they want that hassle) controlled substances.
It was several years ago, and I don't know the current state of their bullshit legal theories ... they certainly made claims that ripping is in fact illegal.
If they could outlaw it, they would. Because in their mind, anything other than how they envision things should be illegal.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
What if you have songs illegally downloaded from P2P networks? Would that be considered contraband? If that's illegal, how do you prove your music came from an actual CD you own?
I wouldn't prove anything. Personal copies without further redistribution are implicitly legal regardless of the source of the copy, as per article 30, subitem 1 of the Czech Copyright Act (Act No. 121/2000) and as per Czech Supreme Court ruling 5 Tdo 234/2009 which elucidated and confirms the interpretation of article 30. These conditions locally apply even to US copyrighted works, as per the Berne Convention of 1896 which is binding for all of its signatories (both the US and the Czech Republic signed it).
Ezekiel 23:20
True, I've been thru the border a number of times recently, and they really don't care.
But had my name appeared on some watch list, I'm sure they would have searched everything.
But there are exceptions. .There is a so called constitution-free-zone in the US where
customs and migration and border patrol are free to search you any time they want.
The zone covers 100 miles inland of any border.
Sig Battery depleted. Reverting to safe mode.
They aren't searching everyone, but if you are a person of interest, they can likely find something in your bag with which to hang you.
Learn to love Alaska
Encrypt it then store it "in the cloud" temporarily. Wipe drives, then ship them to new home or sell them where you live now. Ship other electronics or sell them as well. Cross border with nothing but clothing in your luggage.
And note on that, ALLofMP3 was 100% legal. No user or administrator of the service was ever even formally investigated. It was shut down because the US requested Russia not follow rule of law and make illegal mob-like threats against the administrators of the site.
The issue was that the copy was 100% legal in Russia, and the importation to the US was 100% legal as well.
As it was never tried in court, there is no precedent, binding or otherwise. But as a guide, it seems to indicate that the original question's answer is "It's 100% legal, but frowned upon, so don't piss off anyone and you'll be fine."
Learn to love Alaska
You do not possess usable amounts. It may have already been used, but it is impossible for it to be used in the future, so there is no problem.
Learn to love Alaska
But the IRS will presume that you're doing so for tax purposes and tax you anyway. This is only a problem if you ever want to visit the US.
It was several years ago,
That was several years ago, this is today.
If the media companies did not recognize format shifting, then they would not have signed a contract with Amazon that allows them to distribute ripped copies of media that has been purchased in solid form. It would be simple for them: you shall not distribute MP3s when someone buys a CD from you.
We're talking about the distribution system (Amazon) that actually reached out and deleted a book from their Kindle users when the estate of the author pulled (or pointed out they didn't have) authorization to sell that book as an epub. 1984, anyone? It's not like there isn't precedent for Amazon to obey copyright owner limitations.
Make copies and mail it. I'm afraid to say that chances are that a large amount of media from a foreigner may attract attention at the border.
In reality the chances are very very low, but why risk the hassle?
I said no... but I missed and it came out yes.
I knew a lady who worked for the dude that imported all the Russian nuke fuel. He stiffed them (legally). He'd never be seen again if he ever went to Russia.
Talk about brass balls. Not paying for weapons grade.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
But then... you are using it right NOW... in a usable amount. :-)
US uses Hydromorphone instead (Which seems pretty illogical to me as it is like an even worse heroin when it comes to its negative properties)
9th Circuit Appeals Court: 4th Amendment Applies At The Border; Also: Password Protected Files Shouldn't Arouse Suspicion:
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130308/13380622263/9th-circuit-appeals-court-4th-amendment-applies-border-also-password-protected-files-shouldnt-arouse-suspicion.shtml
I would refer you to California Health & Safety Code 11550, part of which reads:
11550. (a) No person shall use, or be under the influence of any
controlled substance which is (1) specified in subdivision (b), (c),
or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f) of Section 11054,
specified in paragraph (14), (15), (21), (22), or (23) of subdivision
(d) of Section 11054, specified in subdivision (b) or (c) of Section
11055, or specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (d) or in
paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 11055, or (2) a narcotic
drug classified in Schedule III, IV, or V, except when administered
by or under the direction of a person licensed by the state to
dispense, prescribe, or administer controlled substances.
I know someone personally that was arrested for violating 11550a, they were a passenger in a car that crashed, someone else had drugs in their possession, of course that person was also arrested, but for possession.
When I last came back from a deployment, the max standard was 2 'sets' of 'off-label' season dvd's, not of the same series. IE you're not smuggling in multiple copies to sell. Note: It was 2 boxes, a single movie DVD counted the same as a box containing Seasons 1-7(?) of X-Files.
Of course, considering we were US military they were more concerned with finding any illicit drugs, weapons, explosives, etc...
I don't read AC A human right
I have not worried about this issue in years. But back in the day when owning a foreign-made camera was far less prevalent than today, one was advised to get a customs sticker on the device before leaving the US to be able to prove that the camera was taken out, not purchased while on the trip. Has the law changed at all, or is it just a "why bother"? I really don't know.
It was several years ago, and I don't know the current state of their bullshit legal theories ... they certainly made claims that ripping is in fact illegal.
If they could outlaw it, they would. Because in their mind, anything other than how they envision things should be illegal.
The MAFIAA may be entitled to their own opinions, but they are not entitled to their own facts. And the fact of this matter is plain and simply, "Fuck you, MAFIAA."
This space unintentionally left blank.
with my several hundred DVDs purchased legally in China. No way. At least not ripped to my laptop. That's why man invented terabyte drives for chrissakes.
-- Jimtown Kelly
The problem I have with ever-expanding government food programs is that it drives the prices up for those of us living independently.
Are you sure that this isn't just something called "inflation"...?
Cos I remember when you could get a loaf of bread for 35p, and now it's almost a pound. I remember when the condom machines in toilets were selling 3 for a pound, but now they're 2 for 3 pounds. Changes in the global economy over the last decade has seen costs of living rise quicker than wages (ie effective pay cuts for the majority of workers year after year) in most developed countries.
The pattern you blame on increasing welfare has been seen also in Europe while we have been cutting back on welfare in "austerity" measures.
Correlation is not causation.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
Are you going to defend that as good policy?
Of course not. US immigration policy is messed up, with politicians "protecting skilled jobs" that not enough people have the skills to do (H1B etc), while exploiting the desperation of foreigners to drive down prices for unskilled work that anyone could do.
Got them moderator blues I blieve I walk out the do', With these mod-points I been gettin', I 'most never post no mo'
No one really cares. The people sitting at customs are there because its a job. You were checked for bombs and firearms at the TSA. By the time you get to customs, the people are half asleep. Most of the boarder agents I have seen won't even check your luggage to see if you have something that you didn't declaire. They don't care. If your passport and Visa are in good order, you are not on a watch list, and you don't act stupid or look suspicious, they won't bother. The worst I have ever had to do when flying internationally is going through security and having to power on electronic devices to prove they really are electronic devices (which on some items required me to find my voltage adaptor - make sure you know where it is).
Yeah, we have all heard horror stories about horrible security agents and people being held up at the boarders and having their laptops searched. Hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of people fly a day. You hear a horror story, what, once every few months. Probably the worst that happens when you fly will most likely be that you have to take your shoes off and get wanded (or if you do something like forgetting to put your liquids in a seperate pouch and leave leave your sunscreen in your camera bag or something, and even then, half the time they don't care - you just get a brief 10 second lecture and have to pull stuff out and bag it right and put it back through the scanner, so can take an extra minute or two to get through security).
Seriously, don't worry about customs. You could be transporting top secret materials on an unencrypted device, and, chances are, you won't be caught, as long as you don't act suspicious and stuff. Now, if you hit customs, and are all nervous, stumbling over your words, incohearent and stuff because you are anxious, than, yeah, you might get pulled aside.
It's personal property. It's not contraband. You are allowed to own back-up copies of your CD's and DVD's. Do you really think that they would make everyone empty out their iphones and mp3 players, or go through them track by track to see if they match a purchase at the itunes store or whatever? No. Well actually the way the US is acting nowadays - maybe...
No, but you're confusing something that I actually wanted to bring up and haven't seen (yet, still scrolling). The ability to backup isn't in question here, it's the source of the files and how he proves it. If the music/movie/whatever is part of an iTunes or similar music app tied to a legal store library on the users machine (or on an iDevice) I could see Customs not caring. If they see a random external hard drive with hundreds of ripped files with extensions like MKV, RAR, etc. then you might have an issue trying to explain how those files were yours from legal media. Of course, the Customs agents would need to get to the point of actually wanting or needing to go through your equipment to begin with. Basically, I don't think you'll have a problem if you do something like import them into iTunes, at least for transport. Doing something like encrypting them just draws too much attention to them and then you have a another big stink. You may also want to back them up and leave a hard drive in Australia, maybe in a safety deposit box, just in case you have to erase your library.
Ozspeed's question was about legality, not import duties. An old Metallica CD would probably be viewed as worth however much or little you choose to value it, including valueless. An old Metallica rip (if noticed) would still be illegal, as they would presume that you intended to redistribute them. Hence my suggestion that the legal way would be to just move with the original physical media and something to read (and rip) them.
An old Metallica rip (if noticed) would still be illegal, as they would presume that you intended to redistribute them.
That sounds like nonsense to me. Where is the causal link between "rippiness" and illegality, and where is the causal link between "rippiness" and "intent to redistribute"?
Ezekiel 23:20
Who has crossed the US border 6 times in the last 6 months (Chicago x3, Orlando, Atlanta and Detroit), occasionally going to/coming from "areas of interest" and *always* opting out of the millimetre wave-scanners, I've never even been looked at twice, let alone hassled to even turn on my laptop or plug in my hard drives (I usually carry at least 3).
The first time I crossed in to the US, I was petrified that I was going to be treated as you're expecting but as it turns out, being white, dressed nicely (not in thongs, stubbies and a singlet, for example), smiling, polite and prepared for maximum efficiency with all coins, keys, portable electronics, belt, shoes & jacket in the tray well before I get to the bloke who has to pat me down has it's advantages.
If you do happen to be slightly coloured (of Greek or Italian stock, or even part-Aborigine perhaps?), I'd probably reiterate that the smile and be polite part is important.
Founder & COO, Hayai India (hayai.in) / USA (hayaibroadband.com)
It seems likely they would use copyright as an excuse to detain or harass you if you were a speaker they disagreed with or the author of software with political implications since there are many stories of border harassment, but I don't know of any cases where that specifically has happened. I've heard of cases where prosecutors threatened their target with CP charges over normal photos of relatives, then said they could make the bogus charges go away if he agreed to let them have an example-conviction on copyright bullshit, but I don't think that abuse was connected to border-crossing.
If you're not interesting to them, I expect you'll have an easier time getting through if you're confident, and you'll be less confident if you're nervous because you're carrying media you think is a problem even though it isn't. However if the only problems are that you're nervous and are carrying media, I doubt you will ultimately fail at getting through. You might be searched when you otherwise wouldn't be. I think this is therefore a good idea to do because it will give you practice.
I don't understand all the advice about putting the media "on a hard drive". What the hell difference is that supposed to make? You may as well cross your left fingers and stick your right pinky up your butt hole. That's an old gypsy charm that makes you invisible to bureaucrats. I've crossed the border many times using it, and it works great.
Try it yourself with the terms "homeland security and copyright regulation" and you'll see what I mean.