[MPlayer-users] Rescuing a scratched DVD

[Adam Nielsen]

> No, because there are outside visible effects that make it possible to
> distinguish whether a crime was committed or not. My point in the DVD
> copying case (and cursing in the woods) is that there is no measurable
> outside effect by which you can determine whether the copy was made from the
> original DVD or the rented one.

Hmm...good point - but you're arguing that the source of the copy is the 
questionable area, I was arguing that having a copy at all (regardless of 
where it came from) is the illegal bit.

> Any law that makes one thing illegal, and another legal, when both
> have identically measured results, is broken and unenforcible, since
> there's no way to establish in a court that the illegal action was
> taken rather than the legal one.

Again, that's assuming that you're allowed to copy your own but not a rental 
one when you own the original.  It also assumes that the rental DVD is 
identical to the original, which may not always be the case (sometimes they 
do release special rental versions of some DVDs.)

Cheers,
Adam.