http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.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. "
"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. "
#4491....
I have no love for the RIAA or copyright law as it is currently construed. I think both are bad for artists. However, that story is very badly worded and does not accurately reflect the actual case being presented in court.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
That's sick. Got no other words from it. Sometimes I find it hard to judge whether such newsreports are real or not, if the RIAA would try something like that in the Netherlands the judge would risk severe heart damage from laughing. My brother, who studied law, ocassionaly provides me with some background info on cases and often it's not as black and white as the newspapers suggest. For now I trust American law hasn't sunken this low and this is just poor journalism. If I'm wrong then shame on those who've let that happen.
It would appear that the actual case against Howell is that he had illegally downloaded the MP3s. The RIAA lawyers are trying to set a precedent by wording the suit to say that copying your legally bought CD to your PC is illegal and get that as part of the judgement against Howell.
Changing the law by a back door. Sneaky.
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
Did you know that the word "gullible" is not in any dictionary?
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I've never seen accurate reporting of a case I was personally acquainted with. And rarely have seen accurate reporting of any topic I already understand well. What do journalists do in school, anyway?
But the RIAA remains an "Evil Empire" in my view.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
What do journalists do in school, anyway?
Learn how to write a text in such a way that people talk about it and keep buying the product. :roll:
sorry if this story is bogus, i thought the washington post might be trustworthy.
my take on it is, that the riaa might be trying to set a precedent to control where we get music for our mp3 players etc.
i wouldn't be surprised.
#4491....
What do journalists do in school, anyway?
Journalism majors, in the USA, year after year, are jockeying for having the lowest average SAT scores of any graduating class, along with education majors.
Basically, always assume that journalists and teachers are folks who couldn't cut the mustard in more rigorous fields. There are important exceptions in both fields, of course, but by and large, they'll always meet your expectations.
From a purely anecdotal perspective, the very best journalists and teachers I've known have always said they studied something else at school as their major.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
While Wikipedia is not 100% accurate, this appears to be a very good summary of the general situation as addressed by the entry for the Audio Home Recording Act:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_Home_Recording_Act
Some notable points are that Copyright Act-type protections and RIAA-type protections are separate matters, and the issue of hard drive copies is still unclear, though the ruling for Diamond Multimedia suggests it's kosher.
-=Greg
-=tension & release=-
The RIAA is blowing some smoke and getting publicity for it. Here's section 1008 of the US Copyright :
No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings.
This isn't exactly cut-and-dried, because the specific terms are spelled out in other places in the act. "Digital audio recording device" is meant to cover digital recorders (which must pay a royalty), not computers (which don't), The courts have already ruled that computers aren't specifically digital audio recording devices... when the RIAA tried to stop the manufacture of the first mp3 players, because they weren't paying royalties. (RIAA v. Diamond Multimedia)
"Digital audio recording medium" is meant to include things like blank CDs, not hard drives (part of the price of a blank CD is a royalty). Hard drives are not audio recording media - that was decided in the same Diamond Multimedia decision.
So the RIAA might be able to argue that the law allows them to sue for computer copies.
But section 1008 specifically allows the consumer to make a "digital music recording", which from the definitions in the act clearly includes music on hard drives - it's sounds fixed in a digital form which can be "perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."
So the RIAA would have to argue that it's not the copy that's illegal... it's what you copied it to and/or what you used to copy it.
If I rig the output of a CD recorder (which IS a "digital recording device") to send the signal to a hard drive, that's perfectly legal. And if I use my computer to rip a copy of a purchased CD to a blank CD (which IS a "digital recording medium"), that's also explicitly protected - the law says I can make a personal non-commercial copy using a digital recording device OR a digital recording medium.
That leaves the RIAA with the argument that they haven't received royalties on the copy. The current copyright act puts a royalty on recording devices (2% of the price, minimum $1, maximum $8) and recording media (3% of the price).
The royalties were written into the law because the RIAA was afraid of losing money when people copied music they got free - from radio broadcasts, etc. Here they'd have to convince a judge that the law's intent is to allow them to double-dip on the royalty when somebody buys a CD, and then makes a personal copy.
I think that's a pretty tough sell.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
What do journalists do in school, anyway?
Journalism majors, in the USA, year after year, are jockeying for having the lowest average SAT scores of any graduating class, along with education majors
My daughter is a semester from graduating as a teacher. Her major along with education is mathmatics. If you were to see what she has to do to earn that mathmatics major you would realize that she is like one step below a rocket scientist! Seriously! She has math beyond what it takes to be an engineer. Multivarient calculus, linear algebra, set theory ... all fluff classes. The jocks should take them. She took calculus III 2 1/2 years ago!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Congratulations to your daughter! :D
I do have memories from my college days of several elementary education majors who were breathtaking beauties without much sense. I think they'd decided (or been told) that plans to teach children sounded good in pageant interviews, and never got past that. Oh my, they were distracting in class...
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
What do journalists do in school, anyway?
Journalism majors, in the USA, year after year, are jockeying for having the lowest average SAT scores of any graduating class, along with education majors
My daughter is a semester from graduating as a teacher. Her major along with education is mathmatics. If you were to see what she has to do to earn that mathmatics major you would realize that she is like one step below a rocket scientist! Seriously! She has math beyond what it takes to be an engineer. Multivarient calculus, linear algebra, set theory ... all fluff classes. The jocks should take them. She took calculus III 2 1/2 years ago!
So your daughter is a mathematics major who is taking a secondary major in education, and very probably qualifies in the category of "important exceptions in both fields" that I allowed for. Ask her her view of the intelligence of the average education major who is not carrying a second major in a more rigorous field.
My wife's a teacher. She majored in English and French and minored in education. I don't have anything against people who teach. I have something against the low standards and lack of rigor of the average education program. Plenty of teachers don't major in education and do just fine . . . as an added plus they learn how to think properly and actually cover a subject or two adequately compared to those who major in education.
Even for those who major in education there are some very bright folks. But they are the minority. The numbers don't lie -- those who graduate from those two majors have, on average, very low SAT and ACT scores. They are, on average, the bottom of the college barrel.
"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side." -- HST
Over here we had a pretty big discussion about education education (ehm, teaching the would-be teachers I mean). For the first time the scores of education students were published and people were not amused: 30% of students with education majors scored lower on math, after two attempts, then the national average of 12 year-olds. Not kidding. An example of a question the students considered unreasonably difficult:
"John Doe buys an applepie. He divides the pie in four parts. He then devides each part in three parts. How many parts did John end up with?" For the record, the question was in Dutch and students were allowed to use pen&paper to make notes. The majority failed on this question. Miserably. Me thinks it's about time we take teaching the teachers a bit more seriously...
Journalism majors, in the USA, year after year, are jockeying for having the lowest average SAT scores of any graduating class, along with education majors.
The question was asked, "What do journalism majors do in school?"
One thing they learn is that you don't state "facts" such as the one above without citing a source. :wink:
When my mind is free, you know a melody can move me
And when I'm feelin' blue, the guitar's comin' through to soothe me ~
