Let's get something clear: transferring iTunes purchases - LEGAL or ILLEGAL?

[maturola]

This is precisely why people pirate audio and video. If I *buy* the ****** content, then it's MINE to do with AS I PLEASE. Don't treat me like a criminal AFTER I've already bought it. If you make it difficult for me to do WHAT I WANT with something THAT I BOUGHT, then I'll happily not contribute to your bottom line.

While i agreed with you, it is not how it work, you don't "BUY" the *****, you pay for the right to play it on your device, and you are NOT allow to do whatever you want with it, to buy the right to do whatever you want with it, it will cost you a few millions.

 

[radiogoober]

While i agreed with you, it is not how it work, you don't "BUY" the *****, you pay for the right to play it on your device, and you are NOT allow to do whatever you want with it, to buy the right to do whatever you want with it, it will cost you a few millions.

That's a good point. For instance, any DVD I buy, while I can go play it at any friends house, etc, I do not have the right to open up a movie theater and play it and charge admission, etc.

They definitely need to open up the DRM on videos a bit.

 

[Amnesiac7]

If your GF has an HDMI-set, which I assume she does, then you could buy the HDMI adapter for your iPhone 4S and just watch the content on the big screen without the ATV. It'll save you around $60, too.

I didn't know about this. Hm. Is that an official adapter?

----------

Wait -- I just tried to sync the TV episodes onto my iPhone 4S and it said some of them couldn't be synced. Am I doing something wrong? These are all 1080p files. The premiere episodes were synced for some reason, and they're 1080p, and yet the second two were not synced...

Why is this?

 

[obsidian1200]

I didn't know about this. Hm. Is that an official adapter?

Yup, here's the link for it on Apple's site: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD098ZM/A?fnode=MTc0MjU4NjE It's listed as an iPad accessory, but the description says it'll work for iphones, too.

 

[Amnesiac7]

Yup, here's the link for it on Apple's site: http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD098ZM/A?fnode=MTc0MjU4NjE It's listed as an iPad accessory, but the description says it'll work for iphones, too.

Thanks. It says this on that page, though:

Use the Apple Digital AV Adapter to mirror whatever’s on your iPad or iPhone 4S screen — apps, presentations, websites, and more — on your HDTV or HDMI-compatible display in up to 1080p HD (movies play at up to 720p).

So, does this mean that the 1080p TV episodes I've downloaded wouldn't be displayed on the HDTV in actual 1080p?

 

[gnasher729]

How is it illegal if Apple allows it through their system of authorized computers?

Can someone point me toward what legal options I have? If I own a laptop, for instance, I can obviously transfer my purchases from my iMac to that laptop and then bring it to my girlfriend's place and watch the iTunes content that way. Is this the only legal option I have?

I think I'll call AppleCare about this and try to get a clear answer before I do anything.

"Authorizing" computers is the technical implementation, it is not what makes it legal. What makes it legal is that the other computer must be one that you "own and control". If you have a dozen holiday homes, and two Macs at each home that you "own and control", that's fine (if you rent out the holiday homes with these Macs then you don't "control" them).

One regular complained because he lives together with his girlfriend, and it was legal for them to buy and share the "Family Edition" of MacOS X (same household) but they couldn't do that with Lion (they each own their own computer). Even in this case of the same household it's not legal. But if you have a dozen children, and you buy each one a computer that you own and control and not they, then it is legal.

 

[Amnesiac7]

I see. Well, then I need to figure out a legal way to display my purchased iTunes 1080p content on my girlfriend's HDTV.

The iPhone 4S via adapter sounded like a good idea, but apparently it won't allow me to output 1080p content (plus, my iPhone 4S isn't even accepting the episodes when I try to sync them!).

 

[maturola]

I see. Well, then I need to figure out a legal way to display my purchased iTunes 1080p content on my girlfriend's HDTV.

The iPhone 4S via adapter sounded like a good idea, but apparently it won't allow me to output 1080p content (plus, my iPhone 4S isn't even accepting the episodes when I try to sync them!).

You can get an Apple TV (3) for her, content you purchased on iTune will be on iCould, and it will sync to her ATV if you set it up with your Apple ID.

 

[ftaok]

I see. Well, then I need to figure out a legal way to display my purchased iTunes 1080p content on my girlfriend's HDTV.

The iPhone 4S via adapter sounded like a good idea, but apparently it won't allow me to output 1080p content (plus, my iPhone 4S isn't even accepting the episodes when I try to sync them!).

OK, let's not get too complicated here.

This is what I would do. First, copy the iTS content onto a USB stick, DVD, SD card, whatever. When you get to your girlfriend's house. You pay her $1 for her Macbook. Then, you copy the file(s) onto your Macbook's iTunes app. Then when you play the file, you authorize it with your account credentials.

This would satisfy the TOS of the iTunes Store, since it's your content, on your computer.

When you leave, you delete these files from your Macbook's iTunes library, de-authorize your account. Then sell the Macbook back to your girlfriend for $1.

NOTE - if your GF uses iTunes in the cloud, this might f-up her ability to redownload content purchased under her iTunes account.

 

[Amnesiac7]

Sigh.

I wish I didn't have to pay $100 for Apple TV just to watch some TV episodes that already cost me $35.

 

[dgalvan123]

Why is everyone making this more complicated than it is?

Amnesiac, do the following:

1. Copy the Mad Men episodes to her computer and import them into her iTunes program. (You can do this using a memory stick, or by entering your account information in her iTunes and downloading the episodes from the "purchased content" section.)
2. Open one of the episodes in her iTunes program. If/when prompted, authorize your girlfriend's computer for material from your iTunes account.

Done.

This is all within the iTunes terms of service. It is a personal, noncommercial use, and there are no legal problems with doing it.

See here:

(i) You shall be authorized to use iTunes Products only for personal, noncommercial use.

(ii) You shall be authorized to use iTunes Products on five iTunes-authorized devices at any time, except for Content Rentals (see below).

(iii) You shall be able to store iTunes Products from up to five different Accounts at a time on compatible devices, provided that each iPhone may sync tone iTunes Products with only a single iTunes-authorized device at a time, and syncing an iPhone with a different iTunes-authorized device will cause tone iTunes Products stored on that iPhone to be erased

http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html#SERVICE

To clarify:

You get 5 authorized devices (at one time) that can play your purchased iTunes content. Period. So all you have to do is authorize your girlfriend's computer to play the content and you are fine.

Nowhere in the iTunes terms of service does it say anything about requiring that the 5 authorized devices be in your home, or that you be the owner of these 5 devices. None of this "pay her a dollar so that it's your computer" nonsense is even theoretically required. You don't even have to de-authorize her computer when you leave, if you don't want to. (It's just that you will have one less free device you can authorize to play your purchased content until you de-authorize her computer.)

Playing the videos from your iPhone using an Apple TV or an RCA/Component adaptor would work too, but it's not necessary and I wouldn't recommend you buy anything just for the purpose of getting to watch the shows on her computer. You already have everything you need to do that (your iTunes account and the episodes themselves). You can just copy the content to her computer's iTunes library as long as her computer is one of your iTunes account's authorized devices.

----------

Sigh.

I wish I didn't have to pay $100 for Apple TV just to watch some TV episodes that already cost me $35.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS. See my previous post.

----------

"Authorizing" computers is the technical implementation, it is not what makes it legal. What makes it legal is that the other computer must be one that you "own and control". . .

I don't think this is true. Can you point me to where this is stated? I can't find it in the iTunes terms of service.

Or are you saying this is written in some intellectual property law somewhere, and is not mentioned in the iTunes terms of service?

(I'm willing to be proven wrong.)

 

[ljonesj]

actually my mom owns her computer but i am the one that keeps the security up and the updates to it so in a sense i control the computer

 

[ftaok]

Nowhere in the iTunes terms of service does it say anything about requiring that the 5 authorized devices be in your home, or that you be the owner of these 5 devices. None of this "pay her a dollar so that it's your computer" nonsense is even theoretically required. You don't even have to de-authorize her computer when you leave, if you don't want to. (It's just that you will have one less free device you can authorize to play your purchased content until you de-authorize her computer.)

I only offered the "buy her computer for a $1" scenario because someone mentioned that the TOS requires the 5 computers to be owned by the account holder. Now if that's not true, then I totally agree with you.

BTW, one reason that you wouldn't want to leave your account authorized on her computer is that if something were to happen and the OP broke-up with his girlfriend, then she would have the ability to screw him up financially. She could buy tons of apps and charge it to his account.

ADDED - I remember where that term "owned and controlled" came from. It's in the TOS for the Mac App Store. You can authorize apps from the MAS on up to 5 Macs that you own and control. I think DGalvin234 is correct on this. So the OP can just copy the files onto a thumbdrive and then onto the GF's macbook. Authorize it and watch away.

Caveat - Depending on the specs on the Macbook, you might have terrible results trying to watch 1080p material. You might want to copy the 720p files over as well, just in case you aren't able to download your previous iTunes purchases due to the 90-day rule.

 

[sandman42]

Did they change the authorize/deauthorize rules? I see a lot of people saying, "just load the content on her computer and authorize it, then deauthorize it when you're done."

Problem is, you can't (as long as they haven't changed how this works) "just deauthorize her computer" -- you have to deauthorize all computers, then re-authorize the legit ones, and you can only do that once per year. They did this specifically so you can't go around authorizing and deauthorizing computers to get around the DRM, specifically for this reason.

 

[ftaok]

Did they change the authorize/deauthorize rules? I see a lot of people saying, "just load the content on her computer and authorize it, then deauthorize it when you're done."

Problem is, you can't (as long as they haven't changed how this works) "just deauthorize her computer" -- you have to deauthorize all computers, then re-authorize the legit ones, and you can only do that once per year. They did this specifically so you can't go around authorizing and deauthorizing computers to get around the DRM, specifically for this reason.

You've got it a little wrong. You've always been able to authorize/deauthorize individual computers at will. It was just the "deauthorize all" feature that was once a year.

 

[laurim]

While i agreed with you, it is not how it work, you don't "BUY" the *****, you pay for the right to play it on your device, and you are NOT allow to do whatever you want with it, to buy the right to do whatever you want with it, it will cost you a few millions.

Absolutely right. You only paid for the ability to ENJOY the movie/music. You didn't pay for the rights to it, including being able to distribute it. Just like going to a concert or a movie in a theater. You pay for a ticket and walk away with nothing more than the memory of the experience. In cases where you buy rather than rent, you've only paid for the ability to repeatedly enjoy it at your convenience. It's only a flaw in technology that you can sometimes circumvent the protections people have put on the content they rightfully own. When someone complains about DRM they should be mad at the pirates who created the need for it, not the people who have to find means to protect their livelihood.

 

[Amnesiac7]

Why is everyone making this more complicated than it is?

Amnesiac, do the following:

1. Copy the Mad Men episodes to her computer and import them into her iTunes program. (You can do this using a memory stick, or by entering your account information in her iTunes and downloading the episodes from the "purchased content" section.)
2. Open one of the episodes in her iTunes program. If/when prompted, authorize your girlfriend's computer for material from your iTunes account.

Done.

This is all within the iTunes terms of service. It is a personal, noncommercial use, and there are no legal problems with doing it.

See here:


http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/us/terms.html#SERVICE

To clarify:

You get 5 authorized devices (at one time) that can play your purchased iTunes content. Period. So all you have to do is authorize your girlfriend's computer to play the content and you are fine.

Nowhere in the iTunes terms of service does it say anything about requiring that the 5 authorized devices be in your home, or that you be the owner of these 5 devices. None of this "pay her a dollar so that it's your computer" nonsense is even theoretically required. You don't even have to de-authorize her computer when you leave, if you don't want to. (It's just that you will have one less free device you can authorize to play your purchased content until you de-authorize her computer.)

Playing the videos from your iPhone using an Apple TV or an RCA/Component adaptor would work too, but it's not necessary and I wouldn't recommend you buy anything just for the purpose of getting to watch the shows on her computer. You already have everything you need to do that (your iTunes account and the episodes themselves). You can just copy the content to her computer's iTunes library as long as her computer is one of your iTunes account's authorized devices.

----------



YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS. See my previous post.

----------



I don't think this is true. Can you point me to where this is stated? I can't find it in the iTunes terms of service.

Or are you saying this is written in some intellectual property law somewhere, and is not mentioned in the iTunes terms of service?

(I'm willing to be proven wrong.)

So, after all the controversy, my original plan -- putting the episodes onto a USB stick and transferring them to my girlfriend's MacBook -- works just fine? It's completely legal?

 

[ZipZap]

so, after all the controversy, my original plan -- putting the episodes onto a usb stick and transferring them to my girlfriend's macbook -- works just fine? It's completely legal?

yessssss

----------

You've got it a little wrong. You've always been able to authorize/deauthorize individual computers at will. It was just the "deauthorize all" feature that was once a year.

Unless something has changed, you're wrong as well.

You have to have all 5 authorizations assigned in order to do a deauthorize all.

 

[ftaok]

Unless something has changed, you're wrong as well.

You have to have all 5 authorizations assigned in order to do a deauthorize all.

I never said that you did/didn't need to have all 5 authorization active before you had the "deauthorize all" option. I was just saying the "once a year" applied only to that option.

Besides, it has changed. You can deauthorize all without have all 5 activations used. I'm not sure if they've relaxed the once a year restriction, though.

 

[gnasher729]

Did they change the authorize/deauthorize rules? I see a lot of people saying, "just load the content on her computer and authorize it, then deauthorize it when you're done."

Problem is, you can't (as long as they haven't changed how this works) "just deauthorize her computer" -- you have to deauthorize all computers, then re-authorize the legit ones, and you can only do that once per year. They did this specifically so you can't go around authorizing and deauthorizing computers to get around the DRM, specifically for this reason.

And authorising someone else's computer doesn't make it legal to install your music on it. The computer must be owned and controlled by you - that is what makes it legal. The legal trick of buying it for 1 dollar and later selling it back for 1 dollar wouldn't make it legal either; if the "sale" happens with the expectation that the item will be sold back at a price far below the value of the item soon after then it isn't a legal sale. If you tell the woman who will then be your ex-girlfriend that she isn't getting her computer back, then it's legal. Obviously your life is at risk

 

[sandman42]

You've got it a little wrong. You've always been able to authorize/deauthorize individual computers at will. It was just the "deauthorize all" feature that was once a year.

Oh, ok. I think I remember now: you can only deauthorize any individual computer from the computer itself; you can't do it from a different computer. So if one of your authorizations slips away from you -- say, you sell a computer and forget to deauthorize it first -- all you can do is "deauthorize all" then reauthorize the computers you still have and, as you say, you can only do that once a year. That deters people from sharing their authorizations. Thanks for clarifying.

Also, I always thought you could "deauthorize all" at any time (you didn't necessarily need to have all 5 in use already), but that's just what I thought -- the facts may be something else entirely. I've never done it or needed to do it, so I'm just going by what I've read.

 

[ftaok]

And authorising someone else's computer doesn't make it legal to install your music on it. The computer must be owned and controlled by you - that is what makes it legal. The legal trick of buying it for 1 dollar and later selling it back for 1 dollar wouldn't make it legal either; if the "sale" happens with the expectation that the item will be sold back at a price far below the value of the item soon after then it isn't a legal sale. If you tell the woman who will then be your ex-girlfriend that she isn't getting her computer back, then it's legal. Obviously your life is at risk

gnasher - I respect your opinion, but I took a look at the TOS of the various Apple stores. In every instance of the iTunes Store's TOS, there was no mention that the computers using one of the 5 authorizations had to be "owned" or "controlled" by the account owner. The only mention of that requirment was explicitly for the Mac App Store.

If someone provides documentation stating otherwise, I would concede the point. But at this moment, I'd be OK with the OP's intent.

 

[Panch0]

Wouldn't the simplest option be to just create a separate user account on her computer for yourself and load YOUR content into YOUR library that is hooked up to YOUR iTunes store account?


I'm no lawyer, this is probably way too simple to be legit..

 

[Amnesiac7]

I just called Apple Care, and the representative told me that I do not need to own the computer or laptop that I authorize. I have up to 5 authorizations (which I can deactivate, but then I won't be able to do that again for another year), and this means I can indeed authorize computers to use my iTunes content, even if I don't own those computers.

 

[DiamondMac]

Which incidentally can also be shown to violate the iTunes TOS....

Oh well. Would do it again and again.

Buy all my stuff legally but will not pay a 2nd time for something as absurd as this (when I say "this", I dont mean the above example but one in which I buy something at home yet my kid cant watch it on their device).