1. An exception exists in Canada's Copyright Act (s. 80) for personal copies.
2. The exception only applies to musical works.
3. The recording industry is not a fan of this exception and has challenged it (so far unsuccessfully) in court.
4. Efforts were underway to change Canada's Copyright Act that would have altered this exception. Those proposed changes died on the order papers when elections were called in 2005 and 2008.
5. Other efforts are under way to alter Canadian copyright law by negotiating and implementing the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA).
6. Under the current copyright regime in Canada, there is little preventing a rights-holder from bringing an action against you in court for alleged copyright infringement. It may be difficult for the rights-holder to obtain enough information to sustain the complaint but it is not impossible. The costs to you of asserting a successful defense are likely prohibitive.
7. Govern yourself accordingly.
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