On: The Long, Slow Decline of BitTorrent (2017)

[Spivak]

I'm reading a tiny bit into the comment so let me state it plainly:

> A few people I know just check out movie from the local Library on DVD or Bluray, rip them and then watch them from Plex, [and then return the DVD or Bluray without deleting the ripped copy].

This is textbook piracy.

[justrobert → Spivak]

Again when it comes to the USA copyright law, it is about distribution.

A person who copies a specific work and does not distribute it is not breaking the law as far as I am aware.

That is why I'd be interested in seeing what laws have been broken.

[cuckcuckspruce → justrobert]

It's certainly a DMCA violation if you broke any DRM to make that copy. That does not require distribution.

[pbhjpbhj → Spivak]

It's not piracy at all.

If they watch the movie again without a license then it would be copyright infringement.

Assuming they live in a jurisdiction that allows format shifting they've not made a copy without a license or right to do so.