[X4U] Re: Any legal restrictions on CD songs as gift loaded on iPod

[Michael Winter]

On Jun 16, 2006, at 11:09 PM, Stroller wrote:

> Bounced due to size:
>
> On 16 Jun 2006, at 15:23, Michael Winter wrote:
>> ....
>> OTOH, in this case we're not talking about giving someone an  
>> original music CD, we're talking about giving them a copy of the  
>> CD and retaining the original. That's totally different. I'd say  
>> this is equivalent to giving a tape of one of my LPs to a friend.  
>> I know that was generally considered to be OK to do, but I don't  
>> know about the strict legality of it.
>
> I don't think the record companies ever thought that this was  
> "generally considered to be OK to do", despite the fact that  
> everybody has always done it.

You're right, the record companies have always considered this wrong - 
they also consider ripping to a computer and transferring to an iPod  
as being wrong too. However, IIRC there is legal precedence whereby  
"sharing with a friend" as I described was considered fair use. The  
problem now is that "sharing with a friend" has become (in the minds  
of some) sharing with anyone who has an internet connection.

-Mike