How to Copy your DVDs / CDs in OS X: Part 1

I need to begin this entry by noting that this information could be used for nefarious illegal purposes.  That being said, there is nothing inherently illegal in this idea.  It is simply using a loophole in the system that allows you to make a legal fair use backup of every DVD or CD you buy or own. DcDan wrote a basic tutorial on how to do this a few weeks ago, and I thought I’d expand upon this to explain the system I use regularly.

First, the legal issues involved: You own your DVD / CD.  Under fair use laws, you should be able to make a copy of said DVD / CD for backup purposes. However, most DVDs / CDs this day come with some sort of Digital Rights Management (DRM) encoding that acts as a first line of defense, preventing you from copying the disk to your hard drive. Any attempts to break the code of or circumnavigate DRM is considered illegal. Fortunately for us, OS X Panther’s Disk Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities/) is capable of making disk images of most mountable disks, DRM and all. Simply launch Disk Utility, insert the disk you want to copy, select the disk’s mounted name in the sidebar of Disk Utility, and go to Images—>New—>New image from Device (or the mounted name of your disk). (Note: For certain store-bought CDs this no longer works.  Easy work around: rip the CD into iTunes, burn a new copy, then make an image of that copy.  This has the same effect using a loophole and still avoids any unlawful breaking of the DRM.)  Since the DRM is copied, you aren’t technically attempting to break the code, and therefore you aren’t really breaking the law.  Instead you are merely exercising your fair use rights. Now, if you decided to take this information and make a copy for your friend, or start making multiple copies to sell on the streets of Manhattan at $10 a pop, then you are breaking the law.  Don’t do it. (Of course, if you are a criminal, you probably figured your way around all this DRM business long ago, which of course underscores how incredibly silly and inconvenient DRM is for the average law-abiding end user.)

In part two of this post, I’ll get into the nitty-gritty how-to of all the different things you can do, some legal, some of questionable legality, once you’ve made this image.  Check back later.