RIAA sues man for ripping his OWN CDs...

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:10 pm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 00693.html

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.

Roody · Post by **Roody** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:13 pm

Guess the RIAA needs to come and sue me then because I have burned copies of all of my CD's on to my server. I don't give them to others to use, but they are here for my personal use.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:18 pm

Aren't we allowed to have a backup, or is that only imaginary now?

Roody · Post by **Roody** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:21 pm

YARDofSTUF wrote:Aren't we allowed to have a backup, or is that only imaginary now?

Yes you are. The RIAA is reaching bigtime here, and they won't be successful.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:31 pm

how did they find out he had them ripped to his PC, if he wasn't sharing them who would know ?

AFAIK it is not illegal to make copies for yourself as long as you own them.

Roody · Post by **Roody** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:32 pm

Mark wrote:how did they find out he had them ripped to his PC, if he wasn't sharing them who would know ?

That's a very good question actually.

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:09 pm

Your Supposed To Put The Cd's In The Drive One At Time. And Your Not Supposed To Let Any Data Go From The Drive Thru The Computers Hard Drive Or Ram.

Don't Invite Any Friends Over While Listening To Music Because That Is Called File Sharing.
If You Want To Dance With Someone You Have To Have Them Bring Their Own Legal Copy And Try And Listen To 2 Cd's At The Same Time.

zooner · Post by **zooner** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 10:24 pm

Randy wrote:Your Supposed To Put The Cd's In The Drive One At Time. And Your Not Supposed To Let Any Data Go From The Drive Thru The Computers Hard Drive Or Ram.

Don't Invite Any Friends Over While Listening To Music Because That Is Called File Sharing.
If You Want To Dance With Someone You Have To Have Them Bring Their Own Legal Copy And Try And Listen To 2 Cd's At The Same Time.

stereo!

Randy · Post by **Randy** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:03 pm

zooner wrote:stereo!

yes thats the idea behind it

Jim · Post by **Jim** » Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:04 pm

The **AA has long been against the concept of space-shifting, and in all honesty, this doesn't surprise me. Hell, I'm sure most of the people here remember RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia as a perfect example of this.

For the most part the courts will side on the consumer on this one. That's assuming the DMCA Monster doesn't decide to crash the party though...

downhill · Post by **downhill** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:10 am

It'll be a loosing battle. The face of recorded music is/has been shifting toward digital on your puter for a while now.

In the audio world, the new big thing is outboard USB DACS feeding your equipment and stored via FLAC on mega hard drives.

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 10:07 am

The RIAA along with the MPAA needs to step back and let progress and change happen..they can't stop it. The age of Digital media is here to stay and is the future...but you have to look at the writers strike going on for another issue where prices for movies may rise again way more than inflation is letting on. This is something that drives the stuff to the underground, prices are way to high...too many big wigs making the jack over the ones that did the music or did the acting.

frostybear · Post by **frostybear** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 11:51 am

Can we still copy with floppies?

[YOUTUBE]<object width="425" height="373"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-Xfqkdh5Js4&re ... ram><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-Xfqkdh5Js4&rel=1&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="373"></embed></object>[/YOUTUBE]

MetalHead324 · Post by **MetalHead324** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:32 pm

screw them.

CiscoKid · Post by **CiscoKid** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 12:51 pm

Sava700 wrote:The RIAA along with the MPAA needs to step back and let progress and change happen..they can't stop it. The age of Digital media is here to stay and is the future...but you have to look at the writers strike going on for another issue where prices for movies may rise again way more than inflation is letting on. This is something that drives the stuff to the underground, prices are way to high...too many big wigs making the jack over the ones that did the music or did the acting.

That was the whole reason for the RIAA at it's inception, take back the power!

Shagster · Post by **Shagster** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:28 pm

So then wouldn't burning my itunes purchases onto a cd for my car be illegal?

downhill · Post by **downhill** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 1:37 pm

Sava700 wrote:The RIAA along with the MPAA needs to step back and let progress and change happen..they can't stop it. The age of Digital media is here to stay and is the future...but you have to look at the writers strike going on for another issue where prices for movies may rise again way more than inflation is letting on. This is something that drives the stuff to the underground, prices are way to high...too many big wigs making the jack over the ones that did the music or did the acting.

Umm...a myth. Prices aren't too high. An LP when I was young, cost between 4 and 5 bucks. The price of a CD when they first came out was around 23 bucks.

The cost now? I can get new CD's delivered to my door, depending but around 10 to 13 bucks.

What's changed is the easy way to get recorded medium for nothing.

Once tasted, the whole world and especially those who feel entitled to get everything for free, the notion that CD's and even DVD's are overpriced.

Kip Patterson · Post by **Kip Patterson** » Sun Dec 30, 2007 3:23 pm

Sounds good, except that what he is being sued for is using KaZaa to distribute copies.

I can't find the original coplaint on the 'net, but the summary judgement notes that he claims to have copied CD's he owned to his hard drive. The RIAA appears to have made no objection. The judgment against him is for the 54 recordings that the RIAA and the records companies claim he distributed, and which he acknowledges are (or were, before he cleaned his hard drive) in his shared folder.

He claimed that a virus, malfunction, or an intruder did it.

He lost. The original default judgement was reversed, and it is now back in the courts. I doubt that he will win on reconsideration.

stevebakh · Post by **stevebakh** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:58 am

Out of curiosity... what happens when you receive a $200,000 fine? Do you pay monthly? What if you decide NOT to pay? What would the end consequence be? Surely there wouldn't be the possibility of jail-time for not paying? What would they do? Could the "authorities" automagically divert a fixed amount or percentage of your income each month?

Izzo · Post by **Izzo** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:02 am

stevebakh wrote:Out of curiosity... what happens when you receive a $200,000 fine? Do you pay monthly? What if you decide NOT to pay? What would the end consequence be? Surely there wouldn't be the possibility of jail-time for not paying? What would they do? Could the "authorities" automagically divert a fixed amount or percentage of your income each month?

The action was brought in civil court not criminal court. If you lost your case the RIAA would hold a monetary judgment against you and then they would have to try and collect it. They could try and attach wages or liens to property but in the end you could just file bankruptcy and discharge it. There is no criminal penalty for not paying your bills .....unless you're perpetrating a fraud.

(it's a bit more involved than that)

Brk · Post by **Brk** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 11:06 am

I see, this douche was illegally file-trading.

Still, the RIAA's position inches increasingly closer to just "outlawing" copying altogether, regardless of purpose.

Kip Patterson · Post by **Kip Patterson** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:08 pm

Burke wrote:I see, this douche was illegally file-trading.

Still, the RIAA's position inches increasingly closer to just "outlawing" copying altogether, regardless of purpose.

Sounds right to me.

Seems like the purchase of a CD should license its content for use by a household, including transferring it to other formats. The reality of today's technology is that this is going to happen, and it should be legit.

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 5:27 pm

Kip Patterson wrote:Sounds right to me.

Seems like the purchase of a CD should license its content for use by a household, including transferring it to other formats. The reality of today's technology is that this is going to happen, and it should be legit.

Buy the Cd for 13 bucks
Buy each mp3 for each device for a dollar
Then if you plan to listen to it with others around purchase a car or home distrubution package.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Mon Dec 31, 2007 6:12 pm

YARDofSTUF wrote:Buy the Cd for 13 bucks
Buy each mp3 for each device for a dollar
Then if you plan to listen to it with others around purchase a car or home distrubution package.

That sounds like a great reason to DL music for free.

As for filesharing, Pfft!!!
I have bought more CD's in the last 2 years due to DL'd music.
The DL reminds me why I liked it so much, then I buy a hard copy