Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use – washingtonpost.com — This sort of legal attack will lead to the end of “fair-use” and back up copies of anything. I can seriously see this extended to the copying machine too.
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 industrys 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.
found by Aric Mackey
I think this is the last straw for most folks. I stopped buying any music about 5 years ago. Seriously, this has to stop. If everyone would quit buying music and let these greedy corporations die, then the music industry could start again. You see beginnings of this with Radiohead and Jamiroquai giving away their music and making money with concerts. And how long will it be before artists start releasing their own music through iTunes or Amazon directly? Prince said he made more money from his web-only music than he made with Purple Rain. The paradigm is changing and hopefully the soullessly evil RIAA and their cronies at the record companies will die a very quick death and the new world of music will start. We can help by NOT BUYING ANY MORE MUSIC AT ALL! They can’t exist without money and we can deprive them of that.
If all songs were from legally bought CDs, then RIAA won’t have much of a case. RIAA can’t get the following (from the article):
They will go after the whistlers next.
so… the RIAA takes everybody to court – and no one gives a rats ass.
Who in their right mind actually purchases music anymore?
#1 xwing71
“how long will it be before artists start releasing their own music through iTunes or Amazon directly?”
I ask; how long before the RIAA gets laws passed making it illegal for anyone to transfer music without giving them a cut?
They’ve gotten every other law they wanted.
The RIAA is simply claiming one thing: whatever you want, pay for it. Got a CD? Sorry, can’t resell it as they aren’t seeing any money from the transaction. (Is that an actual law anywhere? I don’t know since I have never had the need to sell any yet.) Download into iTunes from the iTunes store? Sorry, backing up to your iPod is an additional copy you haven’t paid for of which CD to iTunes to iPod is two copies you haven’t paid for.
My guess is the RIAA will, if they win this CD to PC argument, randomly pick an iTunes customer, seize their computers, and see if any CD is on it and then ask, “Were you aware we won a case involving this? No? Well, let’s settle out of court because you cannot possibly win: we have precedent on our side!”
i’m glad this happening. if i’m right, according to the DMCA the RIAA is right. you can’t make copies. Hopeful this will spur lawmakers to reexamine the DMCA and make some changes.
Full Disclosure: I work in the music industry. I believe copyright should be protected and i understand why the record companies are important. but in this case they are acting like dicks.
Hopeful this will spur lawmakers to reexamine the DMCA and make some changes.
HAHAHAHA, are you high? Last I heard lawmakers were thinking of making the DMCA more restrictive, not less. Big media and its lobbyist have been funneling truckloads of cash to scum bag politicians for years for just this sort of legislation. Don’t count on any of those fucks in Washington to give 2 shits about you or your needs.
people act like lawmakers can’t be voted out. if the RIAA wins and it is reported in the major media, people will take notice. politicains can’t put all that money in their pockets and they can’t enjoy the benenfits of it if they are not in office.
Who in their right mind actually purchases music anymore?>/i>
Everyone in their right mind does.
Is this some kind of temporal rift? are we in the “Bizaro alternate universe”? I have already stopped buying CD’s In fact, I may never buy one again…
#1 said it. But the money comes from 10 zillion kids, not a few cranky geeks.
The recording industry will eventually spend its last dollars on lawyers, then go broke. Who cares anymore. I buy a few tracks from Amazon (unprotected MP3s) and I agree with other posters that the future is direct downloads from artists’ sites. Can’t remember the last time I went into a music store. It might be 5 years. RIP RIAA.
people act like lawmakers can’t be voted out. if the RIAA wins and it is reported in the major media, people will take notice.
You really have no clue do you. In the grand scheme of things, this is a non issue to most people. Terrorism, the economy and the war in Iraq are what most care about. Ask 10 people on the street and 3 will have heard about the RIAA. Nothing will change, incumbents will stay in office. Term limits are the only answer and that will never happen.
Download Steal This Film II. It talks about RIAA’s lawsuits, the history of what was considered piracy and many other topics related to file sharing.
greedy sobs
Wonder how much it is going to cost me for the tune I can’t get out of my head….it just keeps repeating….
“Always look on the bright side of life..whoo hoo, hoo hoo hoo hoo…always look on the lite side of life…”
It’s illegal to hum a tune you heard on the radio by this accounting. Remember the next time you walk into an electronics store that Sony is a big part of this crap. That should influence your decision as to if you really want a TV set or camera with their name on it.
#19 – qsabe – That should influence your decision as to if you really want a TV set or camera with their name on it.
Let me rephrase that for you my friend… That should influence your decision as to if you really want
a TV set or cameraanything with their name on it.What I am seeing here as well is this hybrid of civil and criminal law. It seems like a civil matter where you can sue anyone for anything and where corporations can selectively enforce it. Yet there also seems to be criminal penalties if you’re caught.
These two branches of law have been kept separate for very good reason. Few people seem to make the the logical conclusion: that corporations are working to privatize law enforcement and not just through copyright either.
Interesting point Milo..
this topic will be my column for this coming week’s PC Mag column…
Let’s give the Devil his due, shall we?
It was their efforts in Sony v. Universal which were pivotal in establishing Fair Use doctrine.
This RIAA crap has got to stop. I say we all rip our CD collections to a hard drive, then stage public crushing of them-piles of RIAA member company CDs that are then delivered by the truckload and dumped on the front lawns of all 26 members of the RIAA board of directors.
hmm, downloading a copy of a song off the internet is ‘stealing.’ ripping a copy from a CD is ‘stealing.’
great message you are sending RIAA – downloading is the moral equivalent to buying a CD. might as well just download and save yourself a few bucks.
there is something of a case that, if you get a copy of song off the internet for free, you are ‘cheating’ the artist out of their royalties. there is no moral case to be made for banning CD rips, since the artist has been paid.
but now it is all the same.
oh, and I can’t wait for them to go after the CD-ripping software built into iTunes. after all, it facilitates copyright infringement, don’t it? by their logic, it is just another Napster or Limewire.
‘Steverino v. RIAA – The Final Showdown’
#24
The better solution is to rip all of your cds to a hard drive and then mail them back to the company that produced them. Say that you no longer need this form of data storage and that you are returning the cds for recycling or resale. Be sure to remove your fingerprints.
Perry
Update on this
http://tinyurl.com/ytywn7
Everyone can relax.
Yes, and at least one judge has some sense.
Let’s see the RIAA waste some more money on these lawsuits.
#11
“if the RIAA wins and it is reported in the major media, people will take notice.”
Not as long as Britney Spears keeps showing her shaved cunt to the public.
hey people love their ipods. if it is reported that people are breaking the law by using their ipods it will get people’s attention. i love the interwebz, all lawmakers are evil swine who care for nothing, and the people of this country( execpt the small number of people online) are all stupid sheep. my experiences tell me different.
>Who in their right mind actually purchases music anymore?
Logical next step is who in their right mind would make music anymore?