i understand the RIAA's desire to protect their copyrighted material
HOWEVER...it is already illegal to share copyrighted material over the internet. if you have a file-sharing program on your computer, and place copyrighted files in a folder that allows other to access it, you're breaking the law - this has been upheld over and over again in the courts.
but now they're trying to say that ANY sort of ripping onto a computer is illegal, be it for the purpose of sharing or not. they're trying to make it so that putting music that you paid for onto your computer, even if it has no internet connection, is a crime. that's total bullshit, and i'd be really surprised if the courts allow this argument to fly. whether they intend to prosecute people for doing so or not doesn't matter; the fact is, they're trying to restrict a fairly basic and commonplace act that has been specifically upheld by the laws that are on the books.
Quote:
I'm in the process of ripping my entire CD collection (approx 900 CDs) to a single 500 gig hard drive. Why? Because I'm sick of CDs getting beat up and becoming unplayable, seeing as I travel a ton for work and I'm always either in the car, van, plane, or train. Beat up, unplayable CDs means I have to buy them again.
But why?
Hey RIAA.... I thought we didn't own what we payed for. I thought that we simply bought a personal entertainment license for that albums worth of material. Shouldn't I get a free copy or at least a free (copy-protected of course) download if I ruin mine, since I already paid for it?
But no.... they are hypocrites with a fractured business model. I will rip everything to mp3 (no less than 320 kbps) so I don't have to give they any more money than I need to.
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here's another scenario...
this last january, some shithead kid broke into my car and lit it on fire. the vehicle was destroyed...a total, 100% loss. i had 30+ albums in the car, all of which were completely destroyed, although the jewel cases were(and still are) in my house. now, IMO, i believe that it should be perfectly legal to download those albums from the internet...they were bought and paid for, which i can provide physical proof of, and my ability to play them was hampered by the criminal act of another person.
BUT...if you asked the lawyers for the RIAA, they'd probably tell you that i'm a thief. these guys seriously need to get a clue, because they're digging their own graves at this point.