[solaris]

One-third of consumers in the US and UK have made a copy of a DVD within the last six months, according to a report from Futuresource Consulting.

The firm surveyed 3,613 people in the US and 1,718 in the UK to discover their "home piracy" habits, and attempts to paint a somewhat ugly picture of casual copyright infringement even though a majority of users who make copies are doing so "legitimately" (for personal use).

36 percent of UK respondents and 32 percent of US respondents have made a copy of a DVD within the last six months, which Futuresource says is an increase from only a quarter of survey respondents in 2007.

Futuresource notes, however, that some 62 percent of US users and 49 percent of those in the UK are making "legitimate" copies of their own new release DVDs that they purchased.

58 percent and 54 percent of those who made copies of older movies made copies of their own DVDs too.

Although the numbers for burned DVDs from those that were rented or borrowed are nothing to sneeze at, the large majority of those surveyed appear to be doing what they believe they have a legal right to do.

Full story here: Breaking the law: one-third of US residents rip DVDs