I suppose music and videos and audio books would fall into that "do not copy" category per 17 USC 106 but I don't think software does. The copy on your computer's hard drive is always vulnerable to a crash or other system disaster, and software companies recognize this as well as anyone--especially since their software often causes the problem. But as you pointed out by following one law your more than likely breaking another.
I almost feel guilty copying legit software we purchased but music and videos I will gladly give a copy to anyone who wants one. I was against P2P music sharing until the RIAA starting filing lawsuits against children, now I encourage it and even provide technical support to those who need a little help in downloading and sharing their files.
Vierpsyche,
You're right, you do own it. In fact by law you have the right to make a backup copy of any disc you have purchased. The RIAA tried to sue my son (13 years old). I was able to prove that they had penetrated my firewall (fixed that exploit) and browse my network. 5 days after recieving notice from RIAA we filed countersuite claiming intentional unauthorized access to a private network. Boooooooooya...they dropped their claim against my son and I dropped mine.
From that I learned the tactics they use to prove their cases are themselves ILLEGAL.
Slashdot Mirror
I suppose music and videos and audio books would fall into that "do not copy" category per 17 USC 106 but I don't think software does. The copy on your computer's hard drive is always vulnerable to a crash or other system disaster, and software companies recognize this as well as anyone--especially since their software often causes the problem. But as you pointed out by following one law your more than likely breaking another. I almost feel guilty copying legit software we purchased but music and videos I will gladly give a copy to anyone who wants one. I was against P2P music sharing until the RIAA starting filing lawsuits against children, now I encourage it and even provide technical support to those who need a little help in downloading and sharing their files.
Vierpsyche, You're right, you do own it. In fact by law you have the right to make a backup copy of any disc you have purchased. The RIAA tried to sue my son (13 years old). I was able to prove that they had penetrated my firewall (fixed that exploit) and browse my network. 5 days after recieving notice from RIAA we filed countersuite claiming intentional unauthorized access to a private network. Boooooooooya...they dropped their claim against my son and I dropped mine. From that I learned the tactics they use to prove their cases are themselves ILLEGAL.