Friday, May 12, 2006
What Exactly ARE My Rights, Again?
Another great article over at Daring Fireball led me to this gem of an article on Freedom To Tinker (run by another JD, incidentally), which breifly describes the rights, as in 'copyright's, music media owners have in the states. He, in turn, quotes an article by Jessica Litman, author of “Digital Copyright,” from her law review article “War Stories,” 20 Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal 337 (2002):
I'm not exactly sure how this rolls out in Canada. I do however know about this decision, and I suspect that if one were to dig around on Michael Geist's site they would find the relevant posts that describe the analagous laws to be nearly identical in Canada.
Another relevant decision was rendered recently regarding sharing music using peer-to-peer networks, etc. Guess what - that's legal too! (It's legal, as I understand it, mainly due to the 'copy media levy' we all pay when we buy blank media (tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc) (and I think burners too....) - don't oppose the levy, 'cause that's good shit)
This is important stuff to remember. We often allow companies/corporations/industry associations to walk all over us with their plans to make their business more profitable.
I admit that I buy songs from the iTMS, just like the next guy. When I need to, I rip the DRM off (using some tool or another) that allows me to exercise my rights over that material.
Try not to let the man get you down, that's all I'm saying.
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.
I'm not exactly sure how this rolls out in Canada. I do however know about this decision, and I suspect that if one were to dig around on Michael Geist's site they would find the relevant posts that describe the analagous laws to be nearly identical in Canada.
Another relevant decision was rendered recently regarding sharing music using peer-to-peer networks, etc. Guess what - that's legal too! (It's legal, as I understand it, mainly due to the 'copy media levy' we all pay when we buy blank media (tapes, CDs, DVDs, etc) (and I think burners too....) - don't oppose the levy, 'cause that's good shit)
This is important stuff to remember. We often allow companies/corporations/industry associations to walk all over us with their plans to make their business more profitable.
I admit that I buy songs from the iTMS, just like the next guy. When I need to, I rip the DRM off (using some tool or another) that allows me to exercise my rights over that material.
Try not to let the man get you down, that's all I'm saying.
