Is it legal to download a file off youtube for personal use using media converter?
Content that is obtained from a legal source and used for personal, non-commercial use is legal. This was decided in the Betamax case, http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/B/htmlB/betamaxcase/betamaxcase.htm which had to do with the rights of home recordists taping TV programs for personal use. Such copying qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law. The same principles would apply to content taken from the Internet, provided the content is legal to begin with. You’ll get differing opinions on this. If you listen to the MPAA, the RIAA, and probably the AAA, they’ll tell you that it’s illegal to copy anything, even if you’re a cloistered monk working on an illuminated manuscript. However, this is their opinion, which thus far has been unsupported by the case law. If, however, you know that the content you’re downloading is pirated from someone who would object to its use – e.g., a bootleg
