Losing fair use?

In the USA (unlike the UK), copyright law explicitly recognises the right to make backup copies of music that you buy as well as to make “fair use” of CDs by, for example, copying a CD you buy to your MP3 player provided that you are only using one copy at a time. However, the Recording Industry Ass. of America doesn’t like this, because it means that you only buy each album once. They’d much rather you bought the same album once on CD (to listen to on your stereo), once as an download (to listen to on your PC), once more as a download (to listen to on your iPod), yet again as a download (when you buy a new PC, because the download won’t play on the new PC), and so on and so forth. In other words, they want to extract as much money as humanly possible for the privilege we’ve always taken for granted of listening to music we’ve bought however and wherever we like.

Indeed, the RIAA is now even claiming that (explicit decisions by the US Supreme Court notwithstanding) fair use rights don’t include ripping a CD you’ve bought so that you can have it on your mp3 player, nor even to make a backup! Apparently, they believe that it’s now up to corporations to make and interpret the law.

(_Thanks to the EFF for the info._)

pax et bonum

Article posted at 8:11pm on 17 February 2006
Category: Computers, Music, Politics, Struggling, General

Did you know that in the UK a record company has never succesfully prosecuted a private individual for copying a CD s/he owns for their own personal use – indeed since 1974 no company has ever taken legal action against anyone copying their own music for private use. So the law may be theoretically different in the UK but in practice it is the same – since it is unenforceable.

Tom Allen () (URL)
8:50pm on 18 February 2006

Rather like the little scam of making DVDs viewable only in certain parts of the world. I can buy a paperback book in the UK and read it in the USA, but need to buy a DVD in each continent. These guys’ greed is beyond conception – almost makes you want to sympathise with the pirates.

tony () (URL)
8:58pm on 18 February 2006

Tom – yes, indeed. We all make our backup copies, this being recognised as a moral right and part of common law. But, in the USA, it’s actually embedded in the copyright laws. Which makes the attempts to eliminate it even more flagrant. And more worrying.

Tony – indeed. Although most DVD players can, of course, be “de-regionalised” with relative ease… :-)

pax et bonum

[John] () (URL)
11:27pm on 18 February 2006

I may sound rather cynical, but I have to say I’m surprised it took them this long to get around to it! Having a passing knowledge of copyright and trademark law the number of cases of large American firms trying to fight cases for which they have no legal grounds is not inconsiderable.

drmoose () (URL)
3:22pm on 19 February 2006