Unfortunately, there are a great deal of beliefs about copyright, the RIAA, and umbrellas of protection using "Fair Use" and "AHRA".
1)Should anyone really be concerned about the RIAA, or any other party for that matter, suing them for ripping files form legally purchased CDs to their home computer? NO.
2)Does "Fair Use" clause work in this situation? Not really.
3)What about the "AHRA" - "Audio Home Recording Act"? Doesn't that protect me? Not in the least.
Let me answer these in reverse order.
The "AHRA" only pertains to audio home recorders, i.e. Minidisc, DATs, DCCs, etc. A computer is NOT, in application, principle, or in a court room, an audio home recording device. An audio home recording device is recognized legally as a device with one function only, playing and recording audio. A computer was originally constructed for mathematics, but has grown to encompass so many other tasks; from drawing, to typing letters, to watching movies, to online dating, etc. Therefore, the "AHRA" will not protect computer users in this situation.
"Fair Use" is not an adequate defense. In order for it to be an adequate defense, you should pass 3 of the 4 factors. You are lucky to pass 2 in this situation, and unless you have a lenient judge because it's Christmas, you aren't going to pass.
But to answer why you shouldn't be worried about being sued by the RIAA for ripping legally purchased CDs to your own computer (provided you have only kept them on your computer, or transfered them to your own ipod, or other portable device) is the "Betamax" case. Without going into all the details, let's just say that Sony and Universal ended up in Supreme Court 24 years ago, and the court's decision gives us the right under a newly coined term, "time shifting".
For any other information, contact your local Intellectual Property lawyer, or you can contact me, and I'll send you my going rate.
Let the hive mind of Engadget get that for you.
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1)Should anyone really be concerned about the RIAA, or any other party for that matter, suing them for ripping files form legally purchased CDs to their home computer? NO.
2)Does "Fair Use" clause work in this situation? Not really.
3)What about the "AHRA" - "Audio Home Recording Act"? Doesn't that protect me? Not in the least.
Let me answer these in reverse order.
The "AHRA" only pertains to audio home recorders, i.e. Minidisc, DATs, DCCs, etc. A computer is NOT, in application, principle, or in a court room, an audio home recording device. An audio home recording device is recognized legally as a device with one function only, playing and recording audio. A computer was originally constructed for mathematics, but has grown to encompass so many other tasks; from drawing, to typing letters, to watching movies, to online dating, etc. Therefore, the "AHRA" will not protect computer users in this situation.
"Fair Use" is not an adequate defense. In order for it to be an adequate defense, you should pass 3 of the 4 factors. You are lucky to pass 2 in this situation, and unless you have a lenient judge because it's Christmas, you aren't going to pass.
But to answer why you shouldn't be worried about being sued by the RIAA for ripping legally purchased CDs to your own computer (provided you have only kept them on your computer, or transfered them to your own ipod, or other portable device) is the "Betamax" case. Without going into all the details, let's just say that Sony and Universal ended up in Supreme Court 24 years ago, and the court's decision gives us the right under a newly coined term, "time shifting".
For any other information, contact your local Intellectual Property lawyer, or you can contact me, and I'll send you my going rate.