Posted on 02/13/2006 11:02:23 AM PST by nickcarraway
If you sell your iPod and don't remove your music first, you could find yourself with the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA) breathing down your back. The organisation last week told sellers in the US that doing so is a clear violation of copyright law and warned them that it's sniffing out for infringers.
Apple's rapid iPod refresh schedule, not to mention those of its competitors, have generated a tide of old music player offers in classified ads columns and on sites like eBay. Rather too many sellers are shipping their old machines with music libraries intact - some we've seen even make a virtue of the fact.
But it's illegal, not only in the US but also in the UK and the rest of Europe. As, incidentally, is ripping all your CDs and LPs to MP3 then selling or even giving away the originals. By disposing of your physical media, you're ending your right to use the music they contain. The RIAA's point, made in an MTV online report (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1524099/20060209/story.jhtml) is that handing over music on a music player is no different from duplicating a CD and selling the copy.
The only way around the problem is to either erase the iPod, or make sure it ships with only copies of the music - downloads if that's how they were obtained, or the original physical media. And don't keep copies yourself.
Is this the RIAA's actual position? Because if it is, then I would expect that all the vinyl albums I own and all the CD's I've owned that are now unplayable should be replaced since I still own the license to the music.
Now where do I get the replacement for my Peter Frampton albums??
Sorry, but I can freely sell the CD aftermarket without breaking any law.... provided its the original... Same is true with an MP3 that I've paid for. RIAA is full of fecal material.
We pay money to them whenever we buy a CD-R or CD burner as well (surcharge for copyright).
Nope, not guaranteed to be true.. I put an MP3 on a player, delete it from my hard drive... and that MP3 I paid for... I have violated no law not deleting it from the MP3 player and just included it in the sale of the device.
It is our IPOD and we will do with it as we please.
We can sell other copyrighted materials that we own such as DVDs, and so can we sell our IPOD, which includes copyrighted material.
The RIAA is way wrong here, as usual.
It is perfectly legal to sell CDs, DVDs, and even IPODS (including your rights to use copyrighted materials they contain) as long as you do not retain the use of those materials. I don't see where the RIAA is trying to infringe on that, so what are they doing that you think is wrong?
This of course assumes you don't delete your original.. something the RIAA has no way of knowing. Again the RIAA is full of fecal material.
Yes, I do, and I am in the right legally. I am free to sell any music I am purchased to someone else, provided I am not selling copies of it, or keeping copies of it. RIAA is full of fecal material.
The 1 gig iPod shuffle is $99 and better than the RCA (I have both and am looking to get rid of my RCA). iTunes is actually a plus, though I will conceed it isn't a great Windows app, stability and resource wise.
But once you buy one of these, how can you add more songs to it? You can't copy the music from the iPod back into iTunes, and when you sync it up it will erase any songs that don't exist in iTunes.
well, if they burn DVDs they own, or if they burn DVD copies of TV programs for their own us - that's fair use. if they copy DVDs and sell them on EBAY, that's something else.
I am not defending the RIAA, but this case with the IPODs might not really be fair use, because if you retain copies of that music and load them to your new IPOD, you have essentially "sold" a copy of the songs if you charge a premium price for a loaded IPOD. However, the RIAA should have to prove that you sold that IPOD at a premium price, marked up because of the loaded songs.
I am more concerned with good old fashioned fair use, which is being bled away. If I pay for cable TV every month, and a children's channel is showing something, and I want to be able to show that program to my child in the minivan - I should be able to legally make a DVD of it. that's fair use, plain and simple. same with CDs, if I buy a CD or a legal digital song, I should be able to legally copy and move that song into every player I own - house, car, cell phone, etc. If the industry has to deal with a certain amount of theft, that's there problem - every industry has theft. ITunes is selling millions and millions of legal digital songs, theft can't be that bad.
I'd love to be in the gallery when the first court trial is held accusing someone of giving away a CD.
that is true.
I missed the not keeping the originals. Of course, you should erase it off your computer if you have a copy.
There are hacks that will pull the music out with no problem. If it's MP3 (and not DRM'd AAC format) it will work fine.
I would agree that if you do not delete the itunes files from your computer when you sell the ipod, THAT is wrong.
I never said you couldn't do that - and neither has the RIAA. What they (and I) are saying is that you cannot legally manufacture another copy of the material, distribute one of those copies, and still retain the rights to use or distribute the other copy.
From the article: "The only way around the problem is to either erase the iPod, or make sure it ships with only copies of the music - downloads if that's how they were obtained, or the original physical media. And don't keep copies yourself."
Poorly written, since it should probably read "make sure it ships with THE only copies of the music," but it does take your point into account. How the RIAA could enforce this or find out, I don't know.
I have MP3, AAC and "Protected AAC" songs on my iPod. I'm assuming by DRM'd AAC, you are referring to the "Protected AAC". How can I get the others out of my iPod and back into iTunes (or other software)?
Wonder if the same applies to selling a video tape I recorded an HBO movie on and then sell it in a garage sale?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.