These Beats were made for Walking

Well this is a fine kettle of fish. I got an I-Pod for Christmas and now it turns out that ripping copies of CDs I have legally purchased for personal use might be illegal. This is based on a story from the Washington Post.

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." 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."

Part of me wonders if this story is being written to be a bit more alarming than it actually is; was this Howell character sharing his music files? Or was he simply possessing them?

This is an interesting question, because I'm ripping a CD now.

I will note that looking over the RIAA website, there are some unusual caveats.

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.

Then under a heading Easy Ways to Break the Law (which is nice, since I would hate to have to go out of my way to break the law), there's this interesting phrase, italics mine.

You make an MP3 copy of a song because the CD you bought expressly permits you to do so. But then you put your MP3 copy on the Internet, using a file-sharing network, so that millions of other people can download it.

I am tempted to go through my CDs and see how many expressly permit me to rip it. I would be surprised if many do. Finally there's this bit.

Beyond that, there’s no legal "right" to copy the copyrighted music on a CD onto a CD-R. 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 . . .

Interesting.

Say, would record companies make more money or less money if they required you to both buy the physical product (CD) and the digital product (from I-Tunes) for example? Seems like they would make more money.

Anyway I don't know if this is posturing or something more. I suppose we'll find out.

This story got written in the place of my Friday Beats year wrap up praising The Chemical Brothers "We Are the Night." It's a kick ass album; listen to it.

This isn't the best song on the album; but it is a great video.



Enjoy.