We're all thieves in their eyes

[Muninn]

Just copying songs onto your computer from purchased CD's can get you sued.

Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.

Still, hardly a month goes by without a news release from the industry's lobby, the Recording Industry Association of America, touting a new wave of letters to college students and others demanding a settlement payment and threatening a legal battle.

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."

RIAA's hard-line position seems clear. Its Web site says: "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."

They're not kidding. In October, after a trial in Minnesota -- the first time the industry has made its case before a federal jury -- Jammie Thomas was ordered to pay $220,000 to the big record companies. That's $9,250 for each of 24 songs she was accused of sharing online.

Whether customers may copy their CDs onto their computers -- an act at the very heart of the digital revolution -- has a murky legal foundation, the RIAA argues. The industry's own Web site says that making a personal copy of a CD that you bought legitimately may not be a legal right, but it "won't usually raise concerns," as long as you don't give away the music or lend it to anyone.

Of course, that's exactly what millions of people do every day. In a Los Angeles Times poll, 69 percent of teenagers surveyed said they thought it was legal to copy a CD they own and give it to a friend. The RIAA cites a study that found that more than half of current college students download music and movies illegally.

The Howell case was not the first time the industry has argued that making a personal copy from a legally purchased CD is illegal. 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.

But lawyers for consumers point to a series of court rulings over the last few decades that found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording.

As technologies evolve, old media companies tend not to be the source of the innovation that allows them to survive. Even so, new technologies don't usually kill off old media: That's the good news for the recording industry, as for the TV, movie, newspaper and magazine businesses. But for those old media to survive, they must adapt, finding new business models and new, compelling content to offer.

The RIAA's legal crusade against its customers is a classic example of an old media company clinging to a business model that has collapsed. Four years of a failed strategy has only "created a whole market of people who specifically look to buy independent goods so as not to deal with the big record companies," Beckerman says. "Every problem they're trying to solve is worse now than when they started."

The industry "will continue to bring lawsuits" against those who "ignore years of warnings," RIAA spokesman Jonathan Lamy said in a statement. "It's not our first choice, but it's a necessary part of the equation. There are consequences for breaking the law." And, perhaps, for firing up your computer.

[Comrade K]

It's pretty well legal here to download or share music, and copying your own music to your own hard-drive is now illegal in US?
Welcome to corporatocracy.

[Arloest]

I am ashamed that Mitch Bainwol (The head of the RIAA) went to Rice University.

[Loeln]

Were it not for the Recording Industry Artists o' America being bigger thieves than, well, Butch and Sundance, I'd have more of a problem stealing from them.

[likeafox]

Also you can't listen to music from non-streaming devices because the music gets temporarily copied into memory and that's illegal. Oh and you're not allowed to listen to music period because you might remember it and then you have an illegal copy in your brain. And then the RIAA can legally seize your brain.

What a bunch of BS.

[osprey]

WTF! I can imagine that Apple will have something to say because if this is the case, how the pants are people going to put their CDs onto their Ipods.

Holy crap, the RIAA needs to chill.

Edit: This is also going to deter people from legally buying CDs, because people are just going to be like "well, if they're going to sue me for buying music legally, I might as well just get it for free".

[Zaaphod]

That's the RIAA for you. They're a bunch of music Nazis.

[Foxhound]

Lol, RIAA.

Seriously. If I pay for something, I should be able to at least copy it onto my computer to have a backup (CDs don't last forever). And the RIAA doesn't have a say, if you ask me. People have been doing this stuff since the 1980s. Mixtapes, anyone? I don't remember hearing anything about that, even if it was before my time.

Like DRM, the original E.T. game, and the government of Venezuela, the RIAA is complete and total bs.

And also, don't they have enough money as it is?

[Muninn]

People have been doing this stuff since the 1980s. Mixtapes, anyone?

From the article I quoted -
"But lawyers for consumers point to a series of court rulings over the last few decades that found no violation of copyright law in the use of VCRs and other devices to time-shift TV programs; that is, to make personal copies for the purpose of making portable a legally obtained recording."

[KJ Fellie]

In my opinion, they're just looking for ways to suck vast quantities of money out of individuals, and this is just a fitting excuse.
And, yeah, anyone who sells mp3 players is going to have a problem with this. Next thing you know, they'll try making any device that could potentially be used to make copies of music illegal.
Imagine: Microsoft vs. RIAA. I'd kind of like to see that. (Microsoft makes the Zune mp3 player) I think Microsoft may have a bigger army of lawyers.

And yes, they already have driven a good chunk of their customers away. (They've already driven artists away, also, from what I hear.)

[Steve the Pocket]

Interesting. And this just after the Warner Music Group started offering their entire catalog DRM-free on Amazon.com. I wonder if this is the RIAA's way of recouping the imaginary losses they think this will cause them.

Here's what I want to know: how the bloody heck did the RIAA know this guy had all those mp3s on his computer, if he never forwarded them to anyone online? Have they started spying on people now?

[teozo]

Here's what I want to know: how the bloody heck did the RIAA know this guy had all those mp3s on his computer, if he never forwarded them to anyone online? Have they started spying on people now?

I wouldn't be surprised, when companys have money they start to think they can do what ever they want and go away with it (and not so surprisingly this is the same problem with politicians).

[Comrade K]

and the government of Venezuela...

That sir, made my day.

[Extreme-Speed]

http://www.riaa.com/reportpiracy.php

Since i'm sure we've all done this before, how 'bout we just go and report ourselves to the RIAA?

[Arloest]

Edit: This is also going to deter people from legally buying CDs, because people are just going to be like "well, if they're going to sue me for buying music legally, I might as well just get it for free".

That's what I was thinking as well. Damn, they might as well make all ripping software illegal too. And, as people here have said already, mp3 players.