“Converting music CDs to audio files on a computer is unapproved and therefore illegal, the Recording Industry Association of America has said in a brief ahead of a crucial Arizona lawsuit. Hoping to support the arguments from group member Atlantic Records in its complaint against the Howell family, the RIAA contends that ripping CDs leads to ‘viral’ copyright infringement,” MacNN reports.
MacDailyNews Note: The RIAA is a trade group that represents the outmoded music cartels who are currently in a desperate and futile search for relevancy as their business undergoes radical and rapid transformation at the hands of Apple Inc.
“The statement partly contradicts the RIAA’s previous stance on the subject. Although the group is careful in the current case to make a separation between illegal file sharing and ‘space-shifting,’ or accessing a user’s own songs to a different device for listening outside of a regular location, it argues that any transfer of songs that has not been explicitly approved is illegal,” MacNN reports.
Full article, including link to the RIAA’s legal brief (PDF), here.
MacDailyNews Take: The only way to effectively compete with piracy is to offer DRM-free (or unobtrusively DRM’ed) content that can be played anywhere for a reasonable price. Then people will buy. It’s a simple solution that most of the world’s content providers have yet to understand.
Yes, let’s start suing millions and millions of music lovers — that’ll be good for business!
Give these guys more ammo, so they can shoot themselves in the foot even more.
I can’t wait to see them try to enforce this:
Knock, Knock.
Who’s there?
RIAA, ma’am, we have an anonymous tip that you’ve been copying CDs to your computer. May we come it and inspect your PeeCee please?
Get a warrant, bozo.
Can they really think this will be good for business?
Apple, send some lawyers to Arizona to help this couple out. If they can’t afford decent representation, a very bad precedent could be set.
They will stop my CD ripping when they pull the discs from my cold dead hands.
A one year pause in all music purchasing is needed. Bankrupt them out.
Um, did anyone at RIAA ever hear of a Supreme Court-supported legal doctrine of FAIR USE? None of the physical media music that I have ever purchased, and this dates back to vinyl phonograph records, 8-tracks, pre-recorded cassette tapes and Compact Disks (CDs) has contained an End User License Agreement (EULA) that inferred or stated that music purchased could not be copied or transferred to any other media.
I can only conclude that RIAA wants to make this a test case to take away any rights that consumers have over the the music they have previously purchased. By fiat after reading the article (and I am about to dive into their legal brief), everyone who has purchased recorded music and transferred it in any way, shape or form to another form of physical or digital media are pirates.
My conclusion: this is absolutely brilliant! RIAA obviously wants a street fight with guns and knives. If the RIAA ever thought they’d seen mass piracy, they haven’t seen anything yet. I can only say, beware of the unintended consequences of your actions, you frickin’ comb-over scumwads. Apple really tried to help you, dense though you are in not understanding. If you try to take away the Fair Use doctrine in violation of previous Supreme Court rulings, I will gladly play my violin as your house deservedly burns. And the sooner, the better.
What a bunch of arrogant pricks.
So when is the RIAA going after NBC?
they are simply building a case for suing apple for enabling “illegal” cd ripping
@Captain Lou: “A one year pause in all music purchasing is needed. Bankrupt them out.”
No. Just on CD purchasing. Everything’s on line anyway free or for reasonable.
Always hated CDs anyway!
If the RIAA win this then I think the music industry is over.
CD ripping has being going on for over 5 years. If they suddenly decide to change the fair use rules it will piss off so many people that they will give up on music altogether.
I really can’t believe that the entertainment industry is treating everyone like thieves. Treat customers fairly and they will come back and buy more. Make them jump through hoops and a lot of people will be turned off.
Electronic distribution is really starting to take off. Now these guys want to poison the pot by getting too greedy too fast.
And I claim that taxation is theft, but it hasn’t gotten me very far.
That makes me a criminal since the 8-track days…come and escort me to Levenworth…just not in the same cell as Michael Vick.
Start a counter suit against the RIAA claiming unfair contract as the media chosen wear out and this is unfair termination of a listeners license to hear the music. There is no limitation of time in the rights associated with listening to a purchased CD or other media when used exactly as indicated by the RIAA and therefore they are in breach of contract by allowing such media to wear out and not in permitting backup for personal use under the original non-commercial terms.
Rather than request damages request an order that the RIAA be required to replace free of charge all worn out CD’s and other media for a period of 75 years from date of original purchase or until one year after the expiry of copyright, which ever comes first.
There is substantial case law in at least most Western Jurisdictions.
It is worth noting that any law which becomes unenforceable by reason of mass public disobedience is in principle revoked by popular consent and can subsequently be argued against as an invalid statute.
“@Captain Lou: “A one year pause in all music purchasing is needed. Bankrupt them out.”
No. Just on CD purchasing.”
To the Captains
Recommend having a ban on NEW CD purchases. Let’s allow the sale, trade, barter and purchase of USED CD’s.
Peace.
Speaking of “tipping points.”
It’s fun to learn history.
@ Idiots at the helm
Dear Sir or Madam,
We don’t need warrants to examine your files.
The DMC Act of 2000 provides for access to any evidence we deem as needed to demonstrate that you violated our copyright.
If you refuse to comply the FBI will prosecute you.
Ask any ISP if we ask for something – you must give it to us.
Warm Wishes,
The RIAA
To be fair, the actual RIAA quote is as follows:
“Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs’ recording into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies distributed by Plaintiffs.”
– It seems to me (based on this quote and the rest of the brief) that the determining factor in deciding whether a copy of a song is authorized or not depends on the intent and location of the copy. If the copy of the song is made available to a file sharing network, then the copy would violate the copyright owner’s exclusive right of distribution.
As much as I dislike the RIAA, the above MDN article and title is misleading.
The case doesn’t appear to be stating that the actual CD ripping is piracy, but the ripping and storing into his Kazaa Shared Folder (intent to distribute copyrighted material) is the issue.
Read the brief.
The RIAA is trying to get this to stick again after the AZ Superior Court tossed it out on grounds that Federal 9th Circuit Court had already ruled that ripping a CD to a computer for personal use was not illegal or infringing and was covered under personal fair use.
“Converting music CDs to audio files on a computer is unapproved and therefore illegal, the Recording Industry Association of America has said in a brief.”
Phweew, I’m glad they told me that. I always thought that for something to be illegal that both house of Congress had to pass a Bill banning it and that the President had to sign the Bill for it to become Law. Apparently I’m mistaken and all it takes is for a trade group to say “This is Illegal!” to make it so.
All manufacturers of MP3 players should be forced to pay a tariff to beleaguered music labels. I applaud Microsoft in this respect. They pay Universal $1 per Zune sold. You can count on Universal to use the money to find and develop new artists and deliver a top notch product. I would hate to be the other music labels who are being screwed by John Q. Public and don’t share Universal’s nifty partnership with the great guys at Microsoft.
I for one am sick and tired of consumers sticking it to the labels. I-POD users you know who I’m talking about.
Your potential. Our passion.™
So if I buy a digital album, am I breaking the law by burning it to a cd????
Welcome to the Orwellian Era where the gov’t is paid millions by corporate america to take away the rights of the people. Is this the prelude to Communism? You tell me.
Hmmmmm,
“To be fair, the actual RIAA quote is as follows:
“Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs’ recording into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies distributed by Plaintiffs.”
– It seems to me (based on this quote and the rest of the brief) that the determining factor in deciding whether a copy of a song is authorized or not depends on the intent and location of the copy. If the copy of the song is made available to a file sharing network, then the copy would violate the copyright owner’s exclusive right of distribution.”
—- Its a slippery slope when you use those words. And we have seen that the RIAA does not care about intent, they just want to sue people and intimiate them. POWER is what its all about.
Maybe we should say that only live performances can be heard. All recording media should be stopped for a year. OH wait, I guess that would kill the music industry, huuhhh?
Its a scary world at times.