CBP warned me about having video on my laptop that I converted from my own Blu-ray/LD
 

so... another boring uneventful 14-hour flight... as usual, the only thing in my hand was my laptop(no bag) and my phone(in my pocket). I never carry anything else when I fly... no carry-on, no backpack, no checked bags, because my company pays for FedEx shipping on stuff like that, so I always ship anything I need to my destination a few days before... then thrown them back in the back and let FedEx pick them up from the hotel for shipment back home.

Anyway... the CBP guy was as friendly as can be and commented that I had raccoon eyes. :) I said it was because I spent most of the 14-hour nonstop watching movies on my laptop. That's when his smile did a 180 and turned into a bad cop fact. He asked me if those were movies were downloaded from the internet? I said not. All of them were converted from my own Blu-ray discs and LaserDiscs(yes, some old movies on LaserDiscs still never made it to DVD or Blu-ray as of today). He said that's still illegal, even if I own the physical discs. I didn't argue, of course. He said to consider it a warrning and the next time they may have to inspect my laptop and see if there are any movies converted without the copyright holder's permission.

Was he being serious? Do I not have the right to convert my purchased Blu-ray discs and old LaserDiscs and watch/carry them on my own laptop?

Basically, no, you can't as it requires circumventing the copy protection on the disks, which is not legal. It's a violation of the DMCA.

Another example of why lawyers always say to volunteer no information in discussions with law enforcement. They're not interested in civil conversation, and you shouldn't be fooled into thinking they are.
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thanks... but is it okay if I only keep the videos I converted from my "huge"(as in 350+) LaserDisc collection? Almost 1/3 of them are movies that have never been released on DVD or Blu-ray. :( LaserDiscs have no copy protection and I basically just connect the LaserDisc player via RCA video/audio cables to my computer and it encodes on the fly to MP4 video files.

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OP was being processed by a CBP Officer at a point of entry. CBP most certainly does have copyright enforcement authority (dating back to the portions of its authority which derive from Customs) and absolutely is trained.

The Officer was almost certainly correct, but as you can see, took no action and simply warned OP.

The better takeaway is that the entire "racoon eyes" conversation was likely meant to keep OP talking. The better practice is to smile and be pleasant but volunteer nothing. Another Officer on another day and that laptop could be history.

As #2 said, it's not the format shifting that's the problem. Format shifting is not illegal (in the USA) as long as you don't distribute the copies. It's the DVD/BD access control circumvention that's the illegal part, due to DMCA restrictions.

or don't cross US borders(or any border) with them on the laptop? :)

so... it's not against the law if I transfer my LaserDisc movies to my computer, since there's no copyright protection on them in the first palce? :confused:

Moderator's Note:
 

Folks,

This is the Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues forum. It is an informational forum.

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Next time if asked that tell them you buy the BluRay combo packs that contain a digital copy which is what I normally do because I'm too lazy to rip and convert myself unless the combo pack is way over priced. That should make them happy.

Yes, no, yes, yes, business, no, yes, 8 days, no, no, no. (STAMP). Thank you.

This. Why open yourself to more hassle.

The main reason I have GE. To avoid talking.

Or that you bought the digital movies on amazon. Because its digital doesn't mean it was downloaded or ripped illegally. That comment might have stopped the officer from making the uninformed slanted question in the future.

In any case the OP might want to consider resting his eyes as well. Not only for health reasons but it sounds like CBP noticed and it's what started this whole conversation.

Well, all the officer actually DID was to give the OP information that was not previously known by the OP; the OP thought the opposite was true. My opinion is that it isn't hard to cross the border with a clean computer or device. There's always the possibility that your device can get looked at when you cross a border, so I think it's not a bad idea. I've had NEXUS for many years now and had the car searched once going northbound (random search). We were clean, so once they finished they sent us on our way.