Tom_M wrote:
Here's a good article from Consumer Reports that talks about the recording of streaming content conundrum:
Can you legally record streaming content?
According to the link above (sorry it is a bit long but very well worth reading it)..
"The answer, frustratingly, is simultaneously โyesโ and โno.โ
No, You May Not
Recording anything from the big streaming services is, as you could probably guess, strictly against the rules.
The best-known video and music streaming businesses donโt want you recording their stuff; they want you paying a subscription fee to them every month for continued access to their stuff. That makes sense: continued monthly payments are their entire business model. If you save the content and unsubscribe, they go broke.
So itโs unsurprising that pretty universally, the terms of use or terms of service for the streaming content companies say saving their stuff is a big no-no. A sample of TOS agreements shows how universally banned copying is:
โขNetflix: Section 6E specifies, โYou agree not to archive, download (other than through caching necessary for personal use), reproduce, distribute, modify, display, perform, publish, license, create derivative works from, offer for sale, or use (except as explicitly authorized in these Terms of Use) content and information contained on or obtained from or through the Netflix service without express written permission from Netflix and its licensors.โ
In short, recording from Netflix would fall under the header of archiving or reproducing material, which is explicitly not allowed.
โขHulu: Section 3.3 is particularly clear: โYou may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means copy, download, stream capture, reproduce, duplicate, archive, distribute, upload, publish, modify, translate, broadcast, perform, display, sell, transmit or retransmit the Content unless expressly permitted by Hulu in writing.โ
โขSpotify: Section 8 says, โThe following is not permitted for any reason whatsoever: copying, redistributing, reproducing, โrippingโ, recording, transferring, performing or displaying to the public, broadcasting, or making available to the public any part of the Spotify Service or the Content.โ Saving a copy would be, well, copying, which is explicitly banned.
โขPandora: Section 6 includes prohibitions on recording (as well as password-sharing and several other actions): โyou shall not โฆ modify, download, intercept, or create any derivative works of the Services, including any translations or localizations thereof โฆ copy, store, edit, change, exploit, download, prepare any derivative work of, or alter in any way any of the content made available through the Services.โ
You get the idea.
There are dozens of streaming media businesses but they generally all have some clause in them that says the same thing these ones do: recording our content in any way is a big no-no and will get you booted off our service. Period.
Howeverโฆ
Yes, You Technically Can
Copyright law is a bit of a tricky beast, and the technicalities matter. A lot.
Breaking or circumventing any kind of copy-protection mechanism on media is illegal. Thatโs what the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is all about. Aside from a few very specific, enumerated set of exemptions, you may not create copies of anything if doing so would require an end-run around locks it has built in.
But when you donโt have to break any locks, well, thatโs a different story."OK, I highlighted in bold the key takeaway here.
As long as the video (or audio) has been "protected" (encrypted) with some sort of "copy protection" scheme and creating any copies by any means that "works around" or "breaks" the copy protection is not "Fair Use" even if you are only using it for "personal use".
Screen recording is a "work around" the stream copy protection put in place by "paid streaming services".
You do not "own" the streamed program, you did not "buy" the streamed program, you only "rented" the right to view that stream for the duration of the program.
If the streamer has not put into place ways to prevent folks from copying, storing or sharing without further compensation and doesn't require screen recording or special software to break the copy protection then "Fair Use" may come into play.
This is different from say unencrypted DVDs (no copy protection) or most VHS/Beta (some commercial tapes did have "Macrovision") that you have bought and you are wanting to make a "backup copy", "Fair Use" comes into play for making a backup copy if it doesn't require breaking the copy protection..
This comes down to a "moral", "ethical" situation..
Put yourself in the shoes of the streaming services owners, the content creators.. If you were the owner of a streaming service or a content creator would you appreciate and be happy with folks copying, storing or sharing (basically stealing) your income or works?
The whole idea of streaming is you do not have to copy and save to watch it again and again as long as you are paying for an unlimited streaming service and you have Internet connection.
Heck, Prime is generous enough to allow you to download to your device for up to 30 days if you have not started to watch the program for the times you may not have Internet without the need to screen record or break the copy protection..
While the chances of you getting turned in are slim and there are software companies that do have work arounds like screen recording you do so at your own risk, morally and ethically.
