Legal to Copy
Posted May 12th, 2006 @ 08:38am by Erik J. Barzeski
I don't think enough people know this, so I'm pointing it out: it's perfectly legal to let your friend borrow a CD so that they can make a copy of it (or to give them a copy yourself), so long as you don't sell the music (that'd be "financial gain"). As clarified here:
Under the old way of thinking about things, copying your CD and carrying the copy around with you to play in your car, in your Walkman, or in your cassette deck at work is legal. Borrowing a music CD and making a copy on some other medium for your personal use is legal. Recording music from the radio; maxing different recorded tracks for a ‘party tape,’ and making a copy of one of your CDs for your next-door neighbor are, similarly, all lawful acts. The copyright law says so: section 1008 of the copyright statute provides that consumers may make non-commercial copies of recorded music without liability. Many people seem not to know this any more.
Don't let the RIAA fool you. Know your rights and the laws.
Donate Life
Posted 12 May 2006 at 1:32pm #
This confuses me.
First, the quoted text doesn't originate from the linked page but from a paper called War Stories by Jessica Litman [PDF link], who seems to be a law professor.
Here's Section 1008 of the Copyright Law:
extra88 said on May 12, 2006:
Here's the same thing with the stuff about manufacturing, analog, and devices taken out:
"No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on distribution of a digital audio recording medium or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a medium for making digital musical recordings."
Section 1008 is talking about two separate things, distribution and use. It says it's okay to distribute recording media (which Section 1001 clearly defines as blank media) and it says it's okay to use such media. I'm pretty sure giving a copy of a CD to a friend does not constitute "use," making a copy you keep for yourself (to play in your car or as a backup) would constitute "use." "Distribution" is only permitted of blank media.
So I guess I'm saying either the copyright law has changed since 2001, when the paper was written, or the copyright law professor is wrong
Posted 12 May 2006 at 4:06pm #
Or, the RIAA is lying to people about laws that they themselves fall back on (which wouldn't be unheard of).
Posted 12 May 2006 at 5:44pm #
Mike, my comment has nothing to do with the RIAA, it solely addresses what's written in the copyright law and was written by a copyright lawyer who clearly takes a position far from the RIAA's.
RIAA and their ilk clearly do lie and deceive about what is in fact legal (or not). I'm just saying that the section of copyright law cited does not appear to allow copying audio CDs and giving them to your friends.
Posted 06 Aug 2006 at 10:19am #
Having taken classes with Jessica Litman, I can assure you she is not wrong. She is an expert in the field.
The reason behind this section of the copyright act is because when you buy a blank audio CD, you as a consumer pay a use tax that is part of the purchase price, which subsequently goes to the copyright holders. Accordingly, you bought the right to copy audio media on the CDs you bought. You can distribute those copies (e.g. give them away) provided the distribution is not commerical.
Next time you are in a Best Buy or Circuit City you will notice some blank CDs are labeled as data cds and others are labled as audio cds. These blank cds are the same (e.g. you can burn music on the data cds with no loss of quality over the audio cds), but data cds cost less because you are not paying the use tax.
Posted 06 Aug 2006 at 10:29am #
Let me add that have you ever wondered why there were not audio rental stores. There used to be. The same revision to the copyright act referred to above outlawed audio rental stores. The copyright holders were afraid people would go to these stores instead of buying and copy CDs. Moreover, the owenrs of the stores were not paying the copyright holders for the distribution.
Yet, Libraries can rent you CDs and other then buying the CD, they are not paying copyright holders. This is because libraries are non-commerical entities. Accordingly, it is perfectly legal for you to rent a CD from the library, and burn it.
You can also borrow a legally purchased CD from a friend and burn the CD yourself legally.
Posted 11 Nov 2007 at 4:49pm #
in other words.. i go to a store.. buy a CD.. come home.. burn a copy of it to give to a firend.. that is legal????
Am I right???
Doris