Is Ripping Your Own CD Illegal?
According to the Washington Post, the RIAA imply in their legal brief for the Atlantic v. Howell case that ripping a CD is illegal. Like or loath the RIAA, it appears on this occasion that they have been misquoted.
On page 15 of the supplemental brief, RIAA lawyer Ira Schwartz, states that when Howell placed the ripped CD music into the shared folder used by the Kazaa P2P program, the MP3 files then became unauthorized copies that were illegally distributed. This case focuses on whether or not the defendants made their ripped CD music available globally.
For those of us who just want to convert our original CDs to digital music files for use in MP3 players etc., the good news is that the RIAA still don't have a problem with this as long as you don't use file sharing programs. It's also OK to burn a copy onto CDR as long as it's from an original you own.
The big concern is, will the RIAA in the future argue that any copy, even for personal use is one copy too many?
Be sure to read the article on the dos and don'ts of copying and ripping CDs to make sure you stay legal.
Comments
The industry over charge us for the cd, remember when the use to come in large fancy packaging and we paid hugh prices? I continued to use the cassette until the price dropped
)
To restrict us from making copies of music (cds) we purchase is getting real petty.
Unfortunately it seems that Nik does not understand that the $15.00 that is charged/paid for the CD, pays for many things and is not just about profit for the big labels (a common misnomer).
There is the inherent cost of doing business (about 25%), Distribution costs (about 15%), Payment to the artist (about25%), and Production cost (about 25%). That is about 90% of the cost and the remaining approximate 10% is for profit, with is understandable… after all this is a business andf the label is taking a risk and fronting the cash (or studio and distibution arm) to ensure you get a quality product.
For the record I am not about supporting the big labels, but I am for paying the artists for their skill, kind of like if a carpenter came and upgraded your house, you would add the price to the selling cost right?
Do some research on all of this as I am sure your tune will change when you know all the facts.
As far as copying, we will always be able to copy for our own use, they cannot control this fact, but if you distribute copies, be ready to spend some time in jail as it is clearly copyright infringement.
hi
i think the ilegal depends by the laws of every country… for example are some countries where the lows arent so bad as are in US ( i mean for riping they wont bring you into an prison maby only an avertisment )for example this website -> http://hituri.net/ is located in Europe and the laws arent the same as in USA … this was my point of view
thanks
Ok first off do i not have the right to protect my investment?
If I’m gonna pay 100.00 US for limited edition boxset i should be aloud to copy it to a cd-r or put it on my computer since we all know that cd players do scratch cd’s even the expensive ones. And also it used to cost 70 cents to make a full cd album and 30 cents for a cd single where is the cost comming from
most bands dont make any money generated off album sales. 2 points out of 10 points per unit being sold. That’s why they tour and if there a uk band they tour over a year and 1 day so they dont have to pay tax when they get home.
music marketing is a scamm
the bands have to pay for there own vids
they already have there own managers and producers, they pay for there own studio time
the instruments are there own so where is the mark up costs.
and itunes that is a joke from what i have heard artists don’t even get paid unless its in there contract. so anybody out here check your contracts make sure your media formats clause is updated to include digital transfers as well and the ever changing formats are also included.
Well thats my rant Cya……
People are always going to back up their cds and dvds, so why the hell is DRM becoming more and more complex? In the end it only hurts legitimate customers, the sinister individuals will always find a way around.