Legal Definitions - bootleg

In the context of copyright law, to bootleg means to illegally create, distribute, or sell unauthorized recordings of performances that have not been officially released for commercial purposes by the copyright owner.

This term specifically applies to audio or video recordings of live events, broadcasts, or studio sessions that the rights holder has not yet made available to the public for purchase or official access. The key element is that the performance itself, in that specific recorded form, remains commercially unreleased by its owner.

• Example 1: Unauthorized Live Concert Recording

  Imagine a popular rock band performing a new song during a concert tour. A dedicated fan records the entire performance of this unreleased song using professional-grade audio equipment and then uploads the high-quality recording to several online file-sharing sites, allowing thousands of other fans to download it for free. The band has not yet released an official studio version or a live album featuring this particular song.

  This is an act of bootlegging because the fan created and distributed an unauthorized sound recording of a live performance that the band (the copyright owner) had not commercially released.

• Example 2: Leaked Unreleased Studio Demos

  A renowned pop artist records numerous demo tracks for a potential new album. Ultimately, many of these tracks are deemed unsuitable for the final album and are never officially released by the artist or their record label. However, an employee at the recording studio secretly copies these unreleased demo files and begins selling them on obscure online forums to collectors, marketing them as "rare, lost recordings."

  This constitutes bootlegging because the employee is trafficking in unauthorized sound recordings of performances (the demo tracks) that were never commercially released by the copyright owner (the artist/record label).

• Example 3: Distribution of Unreleased Film Footage

  A famous director completes a science fiction film, but due to studio disagreements, several elaborate action sequences are cut from the final theatrical release and are never included in any official home video release or bonus features. Years later, a former visual effects artist who worked on the film obtains copies of this unreleased footage and begins selling DVDs of these "deleted scenes" at fan conventions and through a personal website.

  This is an example of bootlegging because the artist is making and distributing unauthorized video recordings of performances (the film footage) that the copyright owner (the film studio) had not commercially released.