Gack. The WaPo reports that the RIAA contends it is a copyright violation when we copy a CD to our computers to play there or to play on our MP3 players:
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…
“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.”
Buy indie music. Tell your favorite bands to tell the RIAA to go to … purgatory. This is insane.
