EFF good, RIAA bad. That’s a pretty simple and yet accurate way of looking at things.
If this Washington Post article is to be believed, then the RIAA is going after virtually every iPod user. A consumer in Arizona is being sued for making MP3s of music that he legally purchased. Not distributed to other people, just transfered to his PC. The reasoning seems to be making an “unauthorized copy” is an illegal act.
Anyone can use iTunes to rip CDs to your PC for your personal use and onto your iPod. According to the RIAA that is an unauthorized copy, so you are breaking the law. My favorite example of this is when the President’s iPod play list included a Beatles song that had to be ripped from a CD.
I wonder if the reverse of that applies? My car does not have an AUX port for playing my iPod. But it does have a CD player so I used iTunes to create a CD to play some songs. I purchased those songs, I’m the one listening to them. This is not an accident; I am using a feature in iTunes.
I don’t play the music on my PC, iPod, or CD player all at the same time and this is for my personal use only (who else likes my taste in music?). So I guess this is illegal if the RIAA is to be believed? And how about MP3s? If an MP3 of music exists how can someone guarantee that it is not and unauthorized copy potentially to be distributed?
Prove to me that you did not do something illegal. You could potentially do something illegal so you will be a worthy candidate to be sued.
Sigh. Groups like the RIAA succeed against truly dumb people so they feel emboldened to do this. All thanks to the DMCA and other really anti-consumer laws and advocates. Fair use sue indeed.
