[iBook] Re: Used Software/Piracy?

Scott Warren sw at shelton.org
Tue Feb 1 10:41:06 PST 2005


A TV has become unwatchable and you find one sitting on the back of a 
truck.  Since all you are doing is replacing the tv for the defective 
one, its all good.  You bought a book, read it, love it, keep it on 
your shelf.  Ooops it some how a coke is spilled on it and its ruined 
and you can not read it again.  The public library has it on the shelf, 
you just grab it and take it over to the photo copier, you pay for the 
copies, and whammy, you have your book back... all you are doing is 
replacing the one that got damaged.

Nope, I dont think TVs are comparable to mp3s since mp3s are just 1s 
and 0s on a computer and there is no physical loss when an MP3 is 
illegally copied, plus you paid for the media (computer, blank cd, 
internet connection, electric bill).  The Music industry people just 
want to get paid.  If you bought the music legal and then messed up 
your cd, you are out of luck and kazaa is not the "legal" 
replacement... maybe your homeowners insurance will replace the CD for 
ya.

You are allowed to copy your own music and rip them to MP3s as long as 
its all for your own personal use.  You can not sell the copies, give 
them away, or even let your daughter use them.  If you sell or get rid 
of the original, then all the copies must be destroyed as well.  There 
are some artists that are trying to prevent that though.  Madonna has 
even put hidden tracks on her CDs that Rippers pickup... its her 
cussing out MP3 pirates (so I hear, I want to find some of these, 
sounds like a riot!).  iTunes is trying to serialize the MP3s (m4a) so 
they can only be played on certain computers/ipods and not other ones.

But wait, now limewire offers $1 a month for their service.  We are 
paying for the music now, so I can download the Beetles library, 
right??  Wrong again... $1 a month is for the privilege of getting 
their software and having access to any mp3 that artists have released 
for free, the Beetles were not one of them...

There are lots of great FREE mp3s out there though... garage/local 
bands are pushing their stuff out for free just to get noticed.  Copy 
the songs and hand them out, they love it.

On Jan 22, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Jay Hill wrote:

> I've heard it is legal to rip cds that you own and use them in an mp3
> player.  If that is true, I don't suppose downloading replacement mp3 
> for
> damaged cds would be a problem as long as you didn't share them with 
> other
> kazaa users.
>>
>> Here's a question a student posed last year:
>>
>> I own a CD which has become scratched and is now unplayable. Am I 
>> breaking
>> the law if I download the mp3s with Kazaa?



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