This is the most profoundly stupid court ruling I have heard of in recent memory. Read this, because I guarantee it has an impact on every one of you.
From the Washington Post:
"Despite more than 20,000 lawsuits filed against music fans in the years since they started finding free tunes online rather than buying CDs from record companies, the recording industry has utterly failed to halt the decline of the record album or the rise of digital music sharing.
"Still, hardly a month goes by without a news release from the industry's lobby, the Recording Industry Association of America, touting a new wave of letters to college students and others demanding a settlement payment and threatening a legal battle.
"Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: 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.
This is hysterical. With this ruling, the record companies have only managed to further erode their position in the market. Think hard: when was the last time you actually saw someone listening to a portable CD player? No one uses CD players anymore — the CD is inarguably a dead medium, having long been replaced with mp3 players. The only reason people still buy CDs is because they plan to transfer the music to their mp3 players. If ripping a CD was deemed illegal, there would be absolutely no reason to buy a CD anymore. That being said, If this ruling is any indication, it is the RIAA's position that the only way to enjoy music from a CD is to play it on a CD player. According to the RIAA, anything else is a violation of copyright laws.
This is just another example of the record companies refusing to change their business model in the face of an evolving market, instead choosing to cling to the past by abusing the legal system.
