Question
1. If I own a music CD can I copy it for my own personal use?
2. If I own a music CD can I copy it to give the copy to someone else as a gift? Does it make a difference who the person is? i.e. if it is my father (and kibud av v’aim would apply) or a friend, is there a difference?
3. If I borrow a music CD from someone else, can I copy it? Does it make a difference whether they have not given me permission to copy it (i.e. they haven’t said either way and I didn’t ask) or whether they said I could copy it. If I can copy their cd, can I copy my copy and give it to someone else.
4. What is the status of the many music sharing websites/softwares available in view of the previous questions.
Thank you so much for your time and effort. This is a great concern to me, as I don’t want to steal, and this is a difficult issue given the widespread disregard of copyright (secular) laws.
Answer
You are permitted to copy for your personal use a CD that you have already purchased.
You are not permitted to copy it to give someone else.
You are not permitted to copy a borrowed CD.
You are permitted to copy music only from someone authorized by the producer to distribute it.
