RIAA Goes After Fair Use
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.
This pits the RIAA against itself in a sense. In MGM vs. Grokster, the RIAA said this type of ripping was fine. On their own website, the RIAA says "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.'
Comments
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Hi All, This is what happens when you have Lobbyist in Washington throwing money at Politicians. Special interest groups are making a mockery of the Ideas that our Great Nation was founded on. Sorry about the rant. |
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can't wait for the no DRM download biz to expand so i can actually start buying music again without having to worry about the riaa getting their panties in a twist |
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There will come a day when the powers that be will insist that the constitution is an outdated document that should be disregarded and/or rewritten... maybe in 10 years maybe a couple hundred, but it will happen! |
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Hi All, I believe it's already started. |
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do they really even follow the constitution now ? sounds like they just throw enough money to the politicians so the supreme court can amend anything they dont like. |
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