RIAA Insanity-Suing People For Ripping CD's They Purchased - FastSilicon.com

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RIAA Insanity-Suing People For Ripping CD's They Purchased

With this past weeks announcement by Warner to release its entire catalog to Amazon in MP3 format with no Digital Rights Management, you would think that the organization that represents them, The Recording Industry Association of America , would begin changing its tune. However, in an inane display of hubris and futility, the RIAA presses on in it's tirade against the very consumers its partners rely on by (we're not making this up) suing individuals who merely rip CD's they've purchased legally.

The Washington Post reports on the case being fought by a Scottsdale Arizona man, Jeffrey Howell, who is being taken to task for ripping his own store bought CD's to his PC as a violation of copyright.

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.

If the RIAA is successful here, it is safe to say that the overwhelming majority of American music consumers will soon be classified as criminals under the law for attempting to use media they've legally purchased in a manner they desire.

Since a move such as this would clearly change the way in which "Fair Use" is interpreted, it wouldn't be much of a stretch for the RIAA to press further and demand that music be played back only at certain times of the day, or on certain brands of equipment. How so? Well given that such a ruling would basically be saying that consumers have no right to listen to music they've purchased in the manner they want to, it implies that the industry DOES have that right.

Given the weakness and inanity of this argument, we hope that the Federal Court system hands the RIAA their hat and sends them on their merry way. However, with the recent judgement we reported on against Jammie Thomas for $9,250 per song she was found violating the copyright of, we are not so sure.

editors note: To clarify the issue, it appears that much of the Washington Post story was poorly phrased. In a follow up by Endgadget, it has been made clear that the gentleman involved is being taken to task explicitly for sharing the aforementioned 2,000 recordings. Still, the RIAA is fighting the case on the grounds that merely ripping MP3's represents unauthorized copying in violation of copyright, so our gloom-and-doom scenario is still a valid interpretation.
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Wrong

Trident (66.156.81.xxx) 2007-12-31 01:19:01

Read the court case here:
http://www.ilrweb.com/viewILRPDF.asp? filename=atlantic_ho
well_071207RIAASuppl
ementalBrief

1) The RIAA won already (The Washington Post is behind the time)
2) Where in the court case does it state it's illegal to rip mp3's? Every argument they made is based on the fact HE PUT IT IN SHARING FOLDERS.

The RIAA website states (which the WP article failed to see):
"However, burning a copy of CD onto a CD-R, or transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player, won’t usually raise concerns so long as:

The copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own

The copy is just for your personal use. It’s not a personal use – in fact, it’s illegal – to give away the copy or lend it to others for copying."

However, they clearly state it's illegal to put it in sharing folders for others to have access to (which the court case was about)

The WP article is wrong on most of its accounts, has no basis...

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wrong at being wrong... :P

securityguru (66.169.13.xxx) 2007-12-31 03:54:27

The thing being abrogated here is the classical interpretation of "Fair Use".

The quoted statement you gleaned from the RIAA's website (which was also in the Washington Post article ...Guess you didn't really read it) goes well beyond what prior federal court precedent has had to say about "Fair Use" at least up until cases from 2006 onward.

It was fought specifically as an issue (which *is* mentioned in the court documents you graciously linked to) to establish intent, as was the case in Jammie Thomas's case.

In her case for instance, 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,' "

Even if they wouldn't sue you for loading your iPod, it's imminently clear they wish to reserve the right to with statements like that.

The goal here is to establish court precede...

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Does this sound a little redic

Speedracer (65.198.163.xxx) 2008-01-02 14:45:50

I cannot believe that adults would stand around and ruin the life and yes that's what they do at the going rate of $9250 per song...of another person for listening to music. I mean, what a way to scream out for all to ascertain, I WORSHIP A GOD MADE OF MONEY AND WILL KILL ALL TO KEEP/GET IT. It's not about music or Digital Rights. The artists themselves have voiced that they do not agree with the treatment of these cases. If it can be as simple as ripping a CD you've purchased, or sharing the files, then why isn't Microsoft the target of the RIAA for making all their XP media players capable of ripping, burning, and sharing? Or is it that the RIAA is just that pathetic that they cannot go after the sources only those that use the tools they were given? Why is it up to user to abide by an honor system the RIAA itself is not up to taking part in? It would seem that this is an organization of scandalous thieves and pirates. It's a Piracy of it's own. They just hold more cards. They make t...

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.