Washington (DC) - The Recording Industry Association of America has filed a landmark federal lawsuit in Arizona, claiming that it is illegal for users to make copies of CD tracks to their computer for personal use.
The RIAA is going after Jeffrey Howell of Scottsdale, AZ. The group alleges that Howell shared 54 music files over the peer-to-peer network Kazaa. This kind of complaint has become commonplace for the RIAA, but they added something different to this lawsuit.
Ira Schwartz, an Arizona-based lawyer for the trade group, says Howell is also guilty of making "unauthorized copies" of CD tracks by ripping them to his computer, even though he may never have shared them with anyone else.
"It is undisputed that Defendant possessed unauthorized copies of Plaintiffs' copyrighted sound recordings on his computer," said Schwartz in a legal brief. "Once Defendant converted Plaintiffs' recording into the compressed .mp3 format and they are in his shared folder, they are no longer the authorized copies distributed by Plaintiffs."
This means that the RIAA is saying it could actually come after anyone who has ever used a CD ripping program to transfer tracks from a disc to a computer, regardless of whether or not file sharing was involved. The organization's website makes this clearer by noting, "If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings ... you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages."
The case against Howell is believed to be the first to take this stance this far into the legal process.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Got Music?...You're a lawbreaker!...probably.
Posted by Kevin "The Lock" at 11:44 AM
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3 comments:
So I guess our only option to avoid being a criminal, is to buy it, if we like it. How much money is made by the artist once a CD is retailed? Who is really making the money? I looked on a CD which I recently received. The warning stated, "All rights reserved, unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws."
The font must have been minus eight.
Ignorance is no excuse,so even if you can't see it ...it's there. When did the music industry start putting this warning on the CD labels? We will watch this unfold. Keep us posted!
Oh that CD I received, is Freddy Cole-In the name of love. Fully wrapped... thank you very much!
That's great...you're buying CD's! However what the RIAA is saying is even if you purchased that CD, don't you dare transfer it to an I-pod or your computers' hard drive...if you do, you are guilty of "unauthorized duplication" and therefore susceptible to all sorts of litigation. Be careful...Big Brother is watching you!
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