Political Bloviation

It was just a matter of time:

Download Uproar: Record Industry Goes After Personal Use - washingtonpost.com
Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: 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.

Long held legal ruling uphold personal use exemptions to copyright laws. The RIAA would like nothing better than to hobble PCs, CD recorders, DVD burners or anything that threatens and already collapsed business model. What better way to ensure long term survival than suing your customers?

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