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Copyright Laws |
Copyright Laws: File Sharing in the Digital AgeBefore we go any further, I should probably mention that the copyright laws which pertain to the ripping & encoding of legally-purchased CD audio music [for your own personal listening pleasure] vary from country to country. Canada, for example, where my buddy Chris Myden lives, has some of the world's most liberal file-sharing laws. Things become blurred when we try to apply Fair Use laws to digital media. Digital technology allows us to make *perfect* copies. In other words, the quality of the copy is inferior to that of the original. And the quality of each successive copy [generation] deteriorates further. Here in the US, (where RIAA lobbyists influence law-makers) these laws are a jumbled mess of counter-intuitive confusion. No one seems to know for sure what the law does and doesn't allow. It often depends who you ask, and the answer keeps changing. If you are unsure of your country's stance regarding the legality of ripping & encoding legally-purchased CD audio music, [here's the disclaimer, folks] you should seek legal advice from a qualified professional before using this guide. As you might imagine, I receive much mail on this topic, primarily from people with an axe to grind. In no way do I condone piracy. Even the most bandwidth-happy among us agree artists deserve to be paid. We simply want the freedom to listen to our music (that we paid good money for) in whatever manner we choose, and we resent having to buy a whole CD for the sake of one good song.
For more along these lines, here's a Google search pre-configured for the query: copyright "fair use" "file sharing" digital. With those unpleasantries out of the way, let's move on to the good stuff. |
File Sharing |