RIAA Claims Ripping CDs for Personal Use is Illegal
Just as it seemed as though the record industry was starting to figure this whole thing out, here it goes and does something that makes us at the Switched offices shake our heads. The RIAA has filed a brief in an Arizona U.S. District Court against Jeffrey and Pamela Howell, an average Joe and Jane couple who have ripped their CD collection to MP3s for easy sharing throughout their home and -- presumably -- iPods. The brief claims that ripping CDs to MP3s is a violation of copyright laws and the fair use doctrine. The audacity of the RIAA's claim wouldn't be too surprising, given its penchant for overzealous attacks of digital media, if it weren't in direct contradiction of arguments made by RIAA lawyers in a case filed in 2005. In the case, MGM Vs. Grokster, representation from the RIAA explicitly said that making digital copies of music for personal use was protected.
Atlantic Vs. Howell is scheduled to have its first hearing on January 24. Here's hoping that this case gets tossed out, because if the courts find in favor of Atlantic, it will place all of us with digital audio devices on the RIAA's hit list.
[Addendum: Looks like the RIAA has also included language about the fact that the Howells put their files on file sharing networks, which could give the RIAA a leg to stand on here. That said, this case remains interesting due to the language the RIAA is including regarding one's rights to rip his own CDs.]
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Comments
163
Subscribe to comments(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 4:43PM
What B.S.!!! They better @#&^# buy my mp3 player from me then. What's the @&(%#* point of having an mp3 player. They can't do that. And they'd better give me full brand new price for my mp3 player if they do this.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 4:48PM
Ok boys and girls this is what I think. If I can buy someones artistic expression because they are selling it I should be able to do what I want with it unless I am remixing and making money off of it right. Bullshit! We buy cars, houses and other shit, remodel it or put some rims on it add a bathroom or a new motor and sell it for more than we paid. Why hasn't anyone come after us for selling our houses or cars or anything else on ebay? Because it's stupid to run away your customers. If the artist believe that we are wrong then let them speak for themselves. Then you will know which artist to pass on when buying.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 4:49PM
1 word, GREED
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:05PM
If I pay money for a cd i'm going to do what I want with it.F the RIAA.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 4:59PM
A lot of those commenting here believe that if they pay for a CD then they can do whatever they wish with it. Wrong. They cannot make copies and give them away nor sell them to anyone else. Thay can make copies for backup purposes and play them to their heart's content for their own enjoyment. Any other use requires permission of the copyright holder and/or compensation to the copyright holder in an amount acceptable to the copyright holder. The Constitution of the United States covers ownership of intellectual property. These people should read it. The Constitution is not a bad read.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:01PM
So if my daughter BUYS a CD and then puts it on her i-pod (which cost $200) or her $100 mp3, it's illegal? In the old days we listened to music for FREE on a transiter radio. We pay to much for music to begin with. In the 70's and 80's I saw live concerts for between $25 to $50 and saw the best artists in the world. Now no one can afford to see anyone. It's absolutely crazy that if my daughter plugs her i=pod in my car and her friends want to copy it, that she can go to jail.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:01PM
The RIAA is going to be a complete joke a few year from now. An irrelevant organization that is trying to take its last stand. Of course its last stand is being dirty and trying to sue everyone. If they had it there way, we would pay for the $18 CD and listen to it once, alone, and then throw it away in the garbage. What we have are rich old bastards using young retarded lawyers to make some "old money". Some of these old bastards at RIAA also own stock in Apple and other tech companies they are trying to stop. Talk about need to get an ass kickn!
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:00PM
If 'ripping is illegal' gains ground, my bet is that it would breathe new life into ILLEGAL file sharing. After all, why bother spending the money to buy a CD and rip it to your digital device if such action will carry the same or similar penalties as downloading it free from the Internet? Further, any sympathy the industry has garnered re: lost profits, etc. will be quickly lost as people are given good reason to want to 'stick it to' greedy record companies.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:04PM
If I payed for the cd that I'm ripping I don't see what the problem is. I payed for the right to listen to that cd however I want.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:12PM
The person that wrote this article is off base as to what the lawsuit is about. The lawsuit is about the people putting the files on Kaza not turning them into MP3 files and putting them on their Ipod, whoever wrote this needs to check his facts again and maybe amend this article, because it is totally misleading and has nothing to do with the actual lawsuit.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:07PM
the share sites ask u not to use the material for infrindgement....so burn on !!
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:11PM
Many of you are a bit hypocritical here. If you rip your CDs for pesonal use... fine. But as soon as you give it to friends or share them on the net, you're being illegal. COME ON! If you worked your butt off to create software or music or whatever and I paid for ONE copy of your work, then gave copies away to my buds, you'd be the FIRST to cry, "Foul!" So, deep inyour hearts you know sharing is illegal!
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:13PM
This is such B.S., as most of the comments here are in agreement, it's all about how to make money, worse off, its about robbing the consumer who is supporting the music industry & the millions of fans who go out and buy the CD's - if the RIAA want to sue someone, go sue the BIG WIGS who created the technology in the first place which allows everyone to rip the music and share it - - why develop something that is going to bite us in the behind later on - - oh, wait, well that's how our government works, isn't it?
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:14PM
A class action lawsuit against the RIAA? On what grounds? They won't give away for free what is rightfully theirs? They will not allow theft of their intellectual property? What grounds exactly?
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:21PM
Don't buy any music CD!!!, and you will see how the
RIAA will change the rules, I haven't seen Madonna, or Celine Dion having a part time in Burger King because they are not making enough money!!!!!
Let's boycott cd sales!!!!!
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:23PM
If you are ripping CD's and posting digital files for others to download ie distributing freely that's wrong.
If you are ripping files for your own personal use
ie for your mp3 player ther's nothing wrong with that.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:25PM
The RIAA is full of s$%t!
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:25PM
The record companies don't wonder at all whay CD album sales are down. They know why. It is because of massive illegal downloading of copyrighted music.
As for the false bravado of some posters here that claim they will do whatever they wish with a purchased CD, it would be instructive to note the thousands of people who have been successfully sued bu the RIAA and other copyright owners over their thefts of copyrighted material, much of it from the Internet. Bet you won't find them making that claim.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:30PM
This is a great debate, the RIAA is going to far with all the law suits, and soon the big lables are going to cut it's funding. But this Ripping thing, if you sell the music and profit it is stealing. Ok got that one, if you put it in the web for download, it is stealing, ok got that too. A possiable solution is this: Artist have been getting screwed for years on money not from fans but the lable itself, If you are a fan of the artists music, then stop paying the lable and make the artist self pubish there music and sell it direct to you the fan. We live in a digital age and artist could get more money if they started to be a little smarter. I am not blaming the artist.I would like to see more artist control all their rights, publishing, copyright etc, and then the artist can make money and the fan can enjoy the music. Less people would steal the music if it was cheaper to but, it is easy to buy why not cheaper. I am music manager and I tell my artist that they can sell their music cheaper and still make alot of money. One of the posts I read said that the music industry screwed themselves because they are not fair to the artist or writers, I believe that whole-heartedly. If you take and take and never give back this is what happens.
(Unverified)Dec 11th 2007 5:32PM
so I bought this cake and heck if I can eat it myself...so I shared it with my friends....does the bakery have a right to tell me I can't share my cake because I bought it?
I agree file sharing should not be allowed....but when I buy my CD's and want to make compilations I will be damned if I think Big Brother Riaa is going to have a hand in what I do with my personal property on my computer.