10-02-2007, 11:21 PM | #1 | |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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Ripping a CD you own is STEALING...
so says Jennifer Pariser, SonyBMG's top lawyer, in the first file sharing lawsuit to go to trial.
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http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...-stealing.html http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post...n-tuesday.html I know that we are into ebooks, not music. But the DRM issues and fair use issues are important enough that I decided to post this. Know your enemy. |
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10-03-2007, 01:06 AM | #2 |
Cache Ninja!
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Guess we all ultimately become villains in the corporate eye, regardless of what we do; unless we're padding their pockets for the same thing over and over.
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10-03-2007, 01:26 AM | #3 | |
Wizard
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In fact, it might be better to not buy *ANY* CDs or downloads from any music source not run by the individual musicians. And download as many illegal copies of RIAA-backed music companies as we can get. IOW, not one penny in settlement. Where can I contribute to the defense? Derek |
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10-03-2007, 02:23 AM | #4 |
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"Ripping" your own CDs has never been legal in the UK, and downloading copyrighted material is most definitely a crime regardless of whether you "own" the CD or not. This is like the very silly argument some people make saying that it's "OK" to download an illegal eBook simply because you've bought the paperback.
I'm 110% on Sony's side in this. These "filesharing" criminals need to be taught a lesson. The RIAA are most definitely the "good guys" here. |
10-03-2007, 02:25 AM | #5 | |
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With the greatest respect, I think it's highly irresponsible to urge people to commit crimes, especially on a public forum such as this. The RIAA are not the ones breaking the law; the file downloaders are. |
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10-03-2007, 02:45 AM | #6 | |
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Read the post I was responding to. She's saying that even ripping a CD of music files the person *HAS* purchased via download - legally - makes the ripper a criminal! Still think SonyBMG is right? Derek |
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10-03-2007, 02:57 AM | #7 |
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I have read the article linked to, Derek, and I'm 100% in agreement with what she's saying. I understand that the "fair use" clause of copyright law in the US is rather more liberal than that of the UK, but in the UK it's not legal to "rip" or otherwise copy a CD that you've bought. I'm obviously not saying that people don't do it, but it is not legal.
The "downloading songs that you already own" bit I interpret as referring to people who download from file sharing networks music from CDs which they've purchased, hence my analogy to the idea that it's OK to download illegal eBooks that you've bought a paperback copy of. It's all too easy to make "big business" out to be the "bad guys", but the truth is that record company profits are falling through the floor primarily due to a generation of teenagers today who seem to feel that they have some "God-given right" to download free of charge any music track that they wish, rather than going out and buying records as we did when we were that age. All these companies are doing is trying to protect their own commercial existance, and I think personally that we should support them in that, rather than supporting the criminals. |
10-03-2007, 03:30 AM | #8 |
Martin Kristiansen
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As far as theft goes I agree with Harry I'm afraid. If you don't like the purchase contract you have the right not to make the purchase and thats about it. In South Africa you cannot purchase from the itunes store due to the absence of a suitable international copyright agreement. At least this sems not to be an issue with e books other than the Sony reader being available only in the States.
I feel a lot of sympathy however for the irritation people experience over these issues. The result of the copyright laws seem to affect only the honest purchaser. The honest purchaser is in effect "collateral" damage in the war against piracy. It seems odd that the large corporations are so prepared to anger their existing clients rather than building on that loyalty to try and create a culture of respect for copyright. That is however their right and cant be used as an argument to go over to the enemy. This is all starting to sound like a counter insurgency war and that perhaps is the way it should be tackled. First rule would be to not alienate the civilians. Hope this is not all to obscure? |
10-03-2007, 04:00 AM | #9 | |
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I think you've hit the nail on the head, Martin; the basic problem is a fundamental lack of respect for intellectual property rights among many people today. When I was a teenager (in the mid 70s), me and virtually all my friends used to buy "45" records every week with our pocket money. These days, teenagers generally steal music by illegally downloading it. Is it any wonder that the record companies are trying to do something about these criminals?
You say: Quote:
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10-03-2007, 04:16 AM | #10 |
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Have you looked at the evidence in this case, Derek? Records from this woman's ISP reportedly show that 1,702 tracks were being offered for download from her IP address and using a "screen name" which she admits that she has used for many years. There does not appear to be any dispute that she was the one using the computer. It seems like a completely "open and shut" case and personally I hope that they throw the book at her to make an example to others that so-called "sharing" of music tracks is not an "acceptable" thing to do.
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10-03-2007, 04:44 AM | #11 |
Martin Kristiansen
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Buying 45's! We must be about the same age then. What I mean by angering existing clients is a reference to people that would not pirate software, music etc but are still then subjected to onerous procedures to be able to enjoy their purchases. I will give an example of software. We run 5 copies of Adobe Photoshop at my studio. Installing upgrades is made complicated by having to prove we have the previous copy we are updating from and being online in order to activate the product. You may transfer the software from one machine to another but need to do the transfer from the machine currently activated. Should that machine die unexpectedly you then have to get on the phone and answer a bunch of questions. People cracking the software are subjected to none of this. In Adobes defense I would also be fed up with the piracy and their system does work pretty well.
I have a 4X4 vehicle with an mp3 enabled cd player and stick 6 or 7 discs on one cd. This protects my original discs and cuts down on what I carry about when heading off to the wilds of Lesotho or Namibia. My music is almost as important to me as my books. I would never pirate either but now it seems that I am breaking the law by ripping my own discs to use on a holiday where a lot of CD's are awkward to manage. This does irritate me as I do my best not to break the law. It does cut down on my enthusiasm. I am sure that my practise of copying my CD's to use while on holiday or on a photo shoot was not the primary target of Sony's copyright position. I see this as me being collateral damage. Now I will really show my age. I think the problem is a fundamental lack of a basis for morality other than being caught and punished. This applies equally to corporates and individuals. |
10-03-2007, 05:01 AM | #12 |
Wizard
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This doublespeak is old news, really.
Here's what the EFF said back in 2006: "It is no secret that the entertainment oligopolists are not happy about space-shifting and format-shifting. But surely ripping your own CDs to your own iPod passes muster, right? In fact, didn't they admit as much in front of the Supreme Court during the MGM v. Grokster argument last year?" Full article The RIAA claimed in 2005 that it was perfectly legal to rip CDs. Not to mention that ripping CDs for personal use is very clearly fair use. |
10-03-2007, 05:13 AM | #13 |
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This case is not about downloading music, but about offering it for upload by others. Whatever one may believe about the legality, or even the morality of ripping your own CDs, it's clearly not acceptable to make music tracks available for other people to download from you, is it?
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10-03-2007, 05:17 AM | #14 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
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10-03-2007, 05:58 AM | #15 | |
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Morally, yes. Because the current copyright laws are unfair to the general public (there's no excuse whatsoever for copyright to go beyond the author's death) and laws like the DMCA attempt to take away the rights of consumers. |
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