A Question for the Lawyers

[Ping898]

So we all know the RIAA is going after people left and right and as far as I am concerned exhorting money from them, but some people are fighting back...here's a good article on it

http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1128675912177

Here's what I want to know though, cause it confuses me...

If you download song X from the internet but you own a cd with that exact same version of song X on it, to the letter of the law have you violated the copyright?
I have done that before, been to lazy to go to my car and get the cd so I download the song I want to listen to, but I have always been confused if this is considered infringing on the copyright and I could never figure out a good analogy to be able to figure out what the answer is....

Anyone else have any insights?.....

 

[Andrew Green]

I believe you are, if their is any sort of copy protection on the cd you definately are (violation of DMCA)

The other problem is peer to peer networks share files, so by downloading it you usually are uploading it to others which I believe is where they get you.

The whole thing is a big mess and makes me really glad Canadian law is different. We pay a blank media levy but are allowed to make personal copies of recordings, including peer to peer.

But what really gets me is their wording, it's not stealing. It's copyright infringement, still a crime but not theft. Piracy is misleading, Pirates force their way onto your boat and hijack your stuff... kinda like what those Sony CD's did... but they don't copy your stuff and give it away for free to their neighbors. And if it is theft how come the punishment for downloading a couple songs is greater then the punishment for going into a music store and physically stealing a couple of cds?

PS - I'm no lawyer

 

[Tgace]

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-5081098-1.html

 

[Ping898]

I believe you are, if their is any sort of copy protection on the cd you definately are (violation of DMCA)

The other problem is peer to peer networks share files, so by downloading it you usually are uploading it to others which I believe is where they get you.

The program I used to use let you decide what you would share and I never shared mp3s, even the ones I d/l'd so in that respect I was safe cause no one could get them from me....

 

[sgtmac_46]

"The chances of it not being the right person or someone in that household are slim," said Stanley Pierre-Louis, senior vice president for legal affairs at the RIAA. "Let's face it, what we're doing is on the right side here. What these users are doing is violating the copyright laws."

I love that, 'If we accuse you, you're probably guilty'.

If this doesn't work, they're going to start sending Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and the cast from 'Goodfellas' around to your house and pistol whip you. :erg: