Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 30, 2007; Page M05
…Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.
The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.
“I couldn’t believe it when I read that,” says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”
…
But lawyers for consumers point to a series of court rulings over the last few decades that found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording.
But yea, the article goes onto mention how the industry needs to let go of their decaying business model and step up to the plate as far as digital age et al.
An organization that refuses to update its business model to follow consumer trends and demand is doomed. I don’t understand how they can’t realize this.
the problem with VCR’s is that recording from TV is time shifting. i dont think they could justify ripping a CD as time shifting but im sure they will figure out a way to squeeze it into fair use.
Although it’s stupid IMO. It’s the only “legal way”
Apple did it to back themselves up on that one as a loophole if this was ever discovered, which it not seems to have been. If this ever were to go somewhere apple’s sales would be hurting a lot less than other companies, but I doubt anything will become of this whole thing.
Although it is legal in the United States to make backup copies of software, the legality of ripping music for personal use without the permission of the copyright holder is controversial. Historically, copying media for personal use was established to be Fair Use under U.S. Copyright by the Supreme Court in the Sony Betamax doctrine. On the other hand, the RIAA, which represents many music copyright holders has maintained that copying rights have not been granted to end users and that Fair Use does not apply.[1]
Depending on the outcome of the trial including the RIAA v. Jammie Thomas, even ripping a cd without permission from the owner of the copyright, even for personal use may be illegal. [2]
However, in oral arguments before the Supreme Court in MGM Studios, Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., Don Verrilli, representing MGM stated:
"And let me clarify something I think is unclear from the amicus briefs. The record companies, my clients, have said, for some time now, and it's been on their Website for some time now, that it's perfectly lawful to take a CD that you've purchased, upload it onto your computer, put it onto your iPod. There is a very, very significant lawful commercial use for that device, going forward."
My comment was about using your cds that were purchased on your mp3 player. and i also made a mork and mindy reference which should be good from a lol from at least awdrifter.
