Is it legal...

Been wondering this for a few days now, as it is legal to copy CD albums to your harddrive as MP3s, does that mean you can scan comics, if you have something rare, for example, that you don't want to be reading more than once. I am NOT talking about sharing them on Kazaa/Morpheus/Limewire or anything like that, i mean purely for my own use.

It's legal. Space-shifting and time-shifting are considered fair use.

I believe in the UK you can do the above provided you have bought and own the original, and that it's for personal use, and not for sale hire or reward. In other words, not preventing revenue for the copyright holder. Whether you use the original or the copy yourself makes no difference in this case.

In the USA, I believe a similar clause exists that is termed 'fair use' or similar, but surmounts to the same thing.

Prosh gave up that ability a few years aback to rid himself of a virus.

You have a Legion Time Bubble?

Pretty sure it's the same in Australia, too.

Actually that's not true. At least here in Aust, and the Australian and UK laws are often very very close, it isn't legal to copy a CD to MP3 or a comic to disk as a 'back up'. There was an article in the Sydney Morning Herald about a year ago when someone asked this exact question. When you buy music on CD you are buying the acual physical CD which just happens to have a few songs on it. Same as a comic or a magazine. You legally cannot 'back it up'. The only exception is with software.

It's even better than TiVo.

Can't I take a picture of anything I possess? What's the (legal) difference between a scan and a picture?

Fair use decissions allow you to backup and use copies of CD's. You are supposed to destroy the copies when you sell the CD i.e. you can keep a copy as long as you also own the original CD.

It's no different to taping an LP.

If it's a copy of something you own, and it's for personal use, then what laws have been broken? Generally copyright laws apply to revenue going to the copyright holder. Preventing that is where the issues lay as far as I was aware.

Recording something off of the TV to video is slightly different because you don't own the original, but the same rules apply if you try to sell it IIRC.