Sunday, December 30, 2007
RIAA Goes After People For Ripping Legally Purchased CDs
Posted by Ed Hansberry in "NEWS" @ 02:00 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html
"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."
Is the RIAA just totally insane? Of course, Sony "rootkit" BMG steps in with their thoughts on the issue.
"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."
These people are completely nuts. I don't share music and there is nothing wrong with me making a personal "fair use" copy so I can play it on my MP3 player or laptop when on a trip. To hear how these people are treating honest consumers sure does tempt me to download some filesharing software. :evil: What they are basically saying is, if you have anything but digitally purchased music on your MP3 player, you are a thief, because there is no legal way to carry your own music around with you unless you invest in a portable CD player. :roll: How do they find these people to sue? Do they stand outside of a Wal-Mart and take down the license plate number of people buying MP3 players?
Update: This Engadget article states that the lawsuits don't involve ripping, but good old fashioned downloading. Still, even if the Washington Post didn't get it completely right, the quotes from Sony "Rootkit" BMG makes it pretty clear how they feel about consumers, so please, continue to rant, complain, etc. :way to go:
"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."
Is the RIAA just totally insane? Of course, Sony "rootkit" BMG steps in with their thoughts on the issue.
"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."
These people are completely nuts. I don't share music and there is nothing wrong with me making a personal "fair use" copy so I can play it on my MP3 player or laptop when on a trip. To hear how these people are treating honest consumers sure does tempt me to download some filesharing software. :evil: What they are basically saying is, if you have anything but digitally purchased music on your MP3 player, you are a thief, because there is no legal way to carry your own music around with you unless you invest in a portable CD player. :roll: How do they find these people to sue? Do they stand outside of a Wal-Mart and take down the license plate number of people buying MP3 players?
Update: This Engadget article states that the lawsuits don't involve ripping, but good old fashioned downloading. Still, even if the Washington Post didn't get it completely right, the quotes from Sony "Rootkit" BMG makes it pretty clear how they feel about consumers, so please, continue to rant, complain, etc. :way to go:
