Burning a DVD with copyrighted material is about to become legal--under the right circumstances. The DVD Copy Control Association has approved CSS Managed Recording for burning of commercial DVDs.

Because the process is approved by the CCA--as well as by the DVD Forum, the guardian of all things DVD--it legally unlocks the Content Scramble System, a digital rights management system used to protect DVD content. You'll need a special kind of blank disc to make it work. But the recorded disc will play on "the vast majority" of DVD players.

Where will these legally burned DVDs be legally burned? In-store kiosks, on-demand factories, and even at home. The CCA says this newfound freedom will allow distribution of "special content that is now unavailable on DVD because existing demand does not economically allow the mass reproduction today's market requires."

See CCA press release, FAQ (both PDF).

A similar managed copy option may eventually come to HD DVD and Blu-ray. CSS Managed Recording is only for the existing DVD-Video format.