25CentLife.com

I thought they were talking about something geek-bachelor. Apparently not.

Gas prices are dependent on oil prices. Not the government’s whimsy. Most Americans really are brainless — blaming EVERYTHING just on the government.

So I guess all that federal mumbo-jumbo about not being able to copy media (like a VHS tape or a DVD or a CD) for profit — but doing so for personal use was okay — is now totally out the window. Just saw a story on FOX News (but I also read the Washington Post and Wired articles as well) about how the RIAA is contemplating suing anyone whose ever ripped a CD — because you’re basically… stealing from yourself?!

Alright. How does this make sense? Way back when (from my memory, the last time I bought a CDwas whenever Kelly Clarkson’s 2nd cd came out or Green Day’s American Idiot came out (pick the one that was more recent). October something. I didn’t get my first iPod till a few months after that… and until I got a solid internet connection and started getting all my music through iTunes — I was happily copying my CDs into my iPod. I paid for those CDs. So, since they were all for MY USE ONLY. Emphasis on the word ‘my’. I’m sure everyone else who got that first iPod did the same thing with their own music collections.

Apparently to these RIAA folks, copying/burning a CD equals stealing. So, they’re saying that copying a CD for yourself equals stealing…for yourself? WTH.

I understand how burning a CD/DVD and selling it on the streets of Chinatown is construed as wrong. Because that’s for profit, and that’s why they put that funky coding on the iTunes songs so that only an ‘authorized’ iPod/user can play those particular songs on a particular machine. I get that. Same with the first incarnation of the Zune — you can only transfer the songs 3x… but I forget what happened next.

Here’s a blurb from the FOX News page to mull over, while I get the other links:

The RIAA’s own Web site is more conciliatory, but implies that the organization reserves the right to go after music “rippers” should it change its mind.

“If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings … you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages,” it plainly states before adding that “transferring a copy onto your computer hard drive or your portable music player won’t usually raise concerns so long as the copy is made from an authorized original CD that you legitimately own [or] the copy is just for your personal use.”

However, Schwartz isn’t the only RIAA bigwig who’s recently implied that those concerns may be raised more often.

Copying a song you’ve paid for in CD form is “a nice way of saying ’steals just one copy,’” Sony BMG top lawyer Jennifer Pariser testified during cross-examination in the Jammie Thomas case in early October.

Jennifer Pariser just perpetuates one of the many reasons of why we rip on lawyers so much. Good one Jenny, like you’ve NEVER taped a song from the radio or something slightly illegal like that.

Here’s a little something from the Washington Post:

In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has legally purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer.

The industry’s lawyer in the case, Ira Schwartz, argues in a brief filed earlier this month that the MP3 files Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings.

“I couldn’t believe it when I read that,” says Ray Beckerman, a New York lawyer who represents six clients who have been sued by the RIAA. “The basic principle in the law is that you have to distribute actual physical copies to be guilty of violating copyright. But recently, the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.”

And lastly, a chuckle from Wired:

I tried to call the RIAA for clarification, but their phone system, like the record label’s business model, is stuck in the early 80s. There’s no voicemail — not even an answering machine — for their press contacts. The phone just rings out.

It just occurred to me — next thing they’ll be whining about is OMG u guyz kant evin by a CD noe moarz bc u mite playe itt n toher pplz mite lissten 2 itt&toher pplz willl steelz da noisez!! ONOES!

Geez.