For personal use it won't happen. The police and customs have better things to do than worry about a few copied CD's/DVDs, besides the police and customs are probably guilty of exactly the same thing. Commercial piracy is a different matter and it is quite evident to tell the difference between the two.

I brought over about a thousand CDs and DVDs plus a 500 gig hard drive full of music and movies. I declared it to customs and there was no problem.

Once again. In free countries, laws do not say what is permissible - they say what is prohibited. So there will never be a way to "prove" something is legal. The onus is on you, in stating that something is illegal, to show some evidence supporting your case.

You may wish to start your research here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_infringement

for a discussion of legalities and remedies. It is not simple (in other words, you have to read it all, not just a quick scan). And of course, a Wikipedia article is not authoritative but will point you to more referential sources. And that's just for the United Kingdom.

I think you are missing the point here, Mr. Officious, which was that I was giving my opinion and recalling an event that happened to people that I knew. I don't believe that I stated what I said to be fact. I have no need or indeed desire, to go trawling through any information to either prove or disprove my opinion. If it is that important to you, if you really can't sleep or eat because of it, then please, knock yourself out. Come back with any 'evidence' you believe helps to prove that you are once again correct in what you say.

Me? I'm going for a coffee and a smoke....

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...downloads-cost

On another point, internet regulation coming to the UK maybe?

Absolutely.

I think that unless you have something deeply offensive, then they are interested in anyone who is intent on supplying.
We brought 100s when we came to Australia.

When you think about it, which law could you be breaking?
If you bought a DVD in good faith from someone and it turns out to be a pirate - should and would you be prosecuted?

Just say they all belong to your mother in law or someone you don't like and they let you borrow them to watch, store them in a big box with their name on it.

Not only that, but aren't you legally allowed to make a back up copy of a cd/dvd which you own? Just in case something happens to the original?

If that is the case, then surely the authorities, if they were remotely interested in persuing it, would have to prove that you had not, at any time, legally owned the cd/dvd in the first place? I'm not quite sure how they would go about doing that.

The above is complete supposition based on something a friend told me when I was at school ::koff:: years ago and was originally about 7" singles and LPs copied to cassettes anyway

(Was that enough of a disclaimer to cover my derriere?)

Actually, no it is not legal to make back-up copies. Everybody does though and the Police just will not waste their time with it. It is a futile exercise for them to persue.

Once again - if you are going to make a statement like that, please do share with us the relevant Act and section.

Read the Copyright Act Australia. I'm not going to find a link for you but I will qualify my statement by saying that I am an ex-Police officer so know the law quite well, not to mention operational policing.

You didn't state which country you were talking about.

It was amended in 2006 to allow private copying. As for being a police officer, with respect, that does not give you a right to comment definitively on the law without providing references.

Well considering the amount of law a Police officer has to learn, not to mention many also have law degrees... the problem with Police knowledge of law as opposed to a Lawyer, a Lawyer will specialise in only one aspect/field of law. Police officers don't have this opportunity and to be effective they need to have a broader knowledge. They are more jacks of all trades. There is so much information it is very difficult to become experts in all aspects of law.

The Copyright Amendment Act 2006 only applies to music and not video files.

This is the internet, anybody can do anything they want.