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RIAA: It's illegal to transfer music from cd to computer

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Faos, Dec 31, 2007.

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  1. Faos

    Faos Member

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    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html

    Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use

    By Marc Fisher
    Washington Post Staff Writer
    Sunday, December 30, 2007; Page M05

    Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.

    Still, hardly a month goes by without a news release from the industry's lobby, the Recording Industry Association of America, touting a new wave of letters to college students and others demanding a settlement payment and threatening a legal battle.

    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."

    RIAA's hard-line position seems clear. Its Web site says: "If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you're stealing. You're breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages."


    They're not kidding. In October, after a trial in Minnesota -- the first time the industry has made its case before a federal jury -- Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay $220,000 to the big record companies. That's $9,250 for each of 24 songs she was accused of sharing online.

    Whether customers may copy their CDs onto their computers -- an act at the very heart of the digital revolution -- has a murky legal foundation, the RIAA argues. The industry's own Web site says that making a personal copy of a CD that you bought legitimately may not be a legal right, but it "won't usually raise concerns," as long as you don't give away the music or lend it to anyone.

    Of course, that's exactly what millions of people do every day. In a Los Angeles Times poll, 69 percent of teenagers surveyed said they thought it was legal to copy a CD they own and give it to a friend. The RIAA cites a study that found that more than half of current college students download music and movies illegally.

    The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. At the Thomas trial in Minnesota, Sony BMG's chief of litigation, Jennifer Pariser, testified that "when an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song." Copying a song you bought is "a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy,' " she said.

    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.

    As technologies evolve, old media companies tend not to be the source of the innovation that allows them to survive. Even so, new technologies don't usually kill off old media: That's the good news for the recording industry, as for the TV, movie, newspaper and magazine businesses. But for those old media to survive, they must adapt, finding new business models and new, compelling content to offer.

    The RIAA's legal crusade against its customers is a classic example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed. Four years of a failed strategy has only "created a whole market of people who specifically look to buy independent goods so as not to deal with the big record companies," Beckerman says. "Every problem they're trying to solve is worse now than when they started."

    The industry "will continue to bring lawsuits" against those who "ignore years of warnings," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said in a statement. "It's not our first choice, but it's a necessary part of the equation. There are consequences for breaking the law." And, perhaps, for firing up your computer.
     
    #1 Faos, Dec 31, 2007
  2. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    Why don't these a-holes sue Apple instead of Joe Schmoe with his 24 songs? Apple has a whole program for people to reduce "clutter" by ripping CD collections, ie stealing, onto iTunes.

    http://www.apple.com/itunes/godigital/


    These people are like the mob, damn they piss me off. Congress needs to get involved with this stupid crap. These fools sell music but claim they're only selling the medium and not the content. It's a shell game.
     
    #2 CometsWin, Dec 31, 2007
  3. BigSherv

    BigSherv Member

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    Man this crap is crazy. One day one of these guys is going to get killed by a crazy mp3 collector.
     
    #3 BigSherv, Dec 31, 2007
  4. superden

    superden Member

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    It is only a matter of time before the RIAA completely disappears. I can't wait for that day to happen.
     
    #4 superden, Dec 31, 2007
  5. superden

    superden Member

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    Apple have lawyers and money. The RIAA would just piss off more people if they sue Apple and they will lose. The RIAA just preys after the common people because it is an easy win.
     
    #5 superden, Dec 31, 2007
  6. FlyerFanatic

    FlyerFanatic YOU BOYS LIKE MEXICO!?! YEEEHAAWW
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    what makes you think this?
     
    #6 FlyerFanatic, Dec 31, 2007
  7. MexAmercnMoose

    MexAmercnMoose Member

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    200,000??? how in the hell is that lady supposed to pay that kind of money? was she rich? :confused: ...damn, i know if i got sued for that amount i would probably go bonkers and try to bomb the RIAA HQ or something extreme like that :eek: ...i mean 200,000?? that is too much money, that much debt would ruin any body's life
     
    #7 MexAmercnMoose, Dec 31, 2007
  8. SirCharlesFan

    SirCharlesFan Member

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    I'm not sure if any of you guys are familiar with services like Ruckus...but essentially, if you are enrolled in college and have an email address ending in .edu, you can sign up for a music subscription for free. I'm not really quite sure why the RIAA supports these sites. For free, I have access to millions of songs that I can download and play on my computer. For $19.95 a semester, I can transfer these songs to mp3 players. Why are they alright with these types of services but not with someone loading mp3s from legally purchased CDs on their computer?
     
    #8 SirCharlesFan, Dec 31, 2007
  9. WhoMikeJames

    WhoMikeJames Member

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    Blah blah blah... RIAA can say and try anything but millions of people will still use Limewire, upload CD's to their computers, and use BitTorrent.
     
    #9 WhoMikeJames, Dec 31, 2007
  10. wreck

    wreck Member

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    i bought it i should be able to do whatever the hell i want with it.
     
    #10 wreck, Dec 31, 2007
  11. WWR

    WWR Member

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    Then I am a hardened outlaw.
     
    #11 WWR, Dec 31, 2007
  12. Cannonball

    Cannonball Member

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    So many people carry around MP3 players right now. It's just convenient to have instant access to hundreds of albums instead of carrying around CD's and a portable CD player. So we're not allowed to put our legally purchased CD's onto our iPod? We are only supposed to put legally downloaded material on it? That's just ****ing stupid. If most people were actually scared of the RIAA suing them for ripping purchased CD's, CD sales would drop dramatically and they'd just buy them off of iTunes.
     
    #12 Cannonball, Dec 31, 2007
  13. AroundTheWorld

    AroundTheWorld Member

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    Amen. Same for music, same for tickets, same for whatever. These people just try to extend their rights beyond what is reasonable and legal.
     
    #13 AroundTheWorld, Dec 31, 2007
  14. rhadamanthus

    rhadamanthus Member

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    Important note:

    The 9250 per song fee is not for ripping to mp3, but for sharing. It's still ridiculous excessive, but I think halfbreed explained it well in a D&D thread: Statutory penalities are independent of actual fiscal loss. HOWEVER, the RIAA has NEVER BEEN ABLE TO PROVE ANY SHARING OR FISCAL LOSS. You can buy courts in this country, I swear.

    The case about not being able to rip CDs is just a stall tactic. The right to change formats is old and well established.
     
    #14 rhadamanthus, Dec 31, 2007
  15. superden

    superden Member

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    I am just using their logic. That's what they are so worried about...sales keep dropping and then BOOM they go bankrupt. Obviously this isn't going to happen, but if they keep pissing off their customers, they will only be losing money because of their actions. It is doubtful that they will ever go bankrupt, so this makes me wonder what are they so afraid of. Cant' feed their kids at night? I don't download music and I buy cds, but you better not start telling me I can't rip them onto my computer and put it on my ipod for my personal use. They are taking this way too far.
     
    #15 superden, Dec 31, 2007
  16. BiGGieStuFF

    BiGGieStuFF Member

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    What happens if you had bought the mp3 online? I guess we'd better keep those online receipts. How do you think those online companies got an mp3 copy of the file they are selling?
     
    #16 BiGGieStuFF, Dec 31, 2007
  17. LonghornFan

    LonghornFan Member

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    F.U.C.K. the RIAA. I've ripped and uploaded over 300 CDs to Waffles and What.cd combined. The bitTorrent hydra is alive and well and we're not going away. You screwed me over by making me pay $15- $20 a CD that only cost $.10 to make, now I'm giving back to my music loving friends. For free.

    pwnd.

    The fat cat higher ups in the record industry no longer get their multi-million dollars bonuses and jet setting lifestyle like they had in the 80s-90s and they blame it on the pirates, when it's actually their fault for not evolving with technology. iTunes much?

    F.U.C.K. off. douchebags.
     
    #17 LonghornFan, Dec 31, 2007
  18. Xerobull

    Xerobull ...and I'm all out of bubblegum
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    It's total BS...but what can you do? We're moving towards a police/dystopian state now since the P.A. was passed and the Supreme Court went majority republican and allows stuff like police roadblocks, which essentially says that you are guilty until proven innocent. Courts can be bought, and even a casual comment on a public forum can get you arrested these days. It's the country we live in, and unless you're prepared to move out, watch what you say and do.
     
    #18 Xerobull, Dec 31, 2007
  19. KePoW

    KePoW Member

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    no that I'm defending the RIAA or anything, but this is a totally flawed argument

    the 10 cents might be just the manufacturing cost, but you're not factoring in other costs like production, studio time, band/session members' time...and probably most expensive, marketing
     
    #19 KePoW, Dec 31, 2007
  20. halfbreed

    halfbreed Member

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    What in the world does the Patriot Act have to do with the RIAA?

    Also, threatening to use deadly force against the president isn't a casual comment.
     
    #20 halfbreed, Dec 31, 2007
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