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To: Normal4me
Lots of 'ethical' questions here. If someone emails you a file are you guilty of piracy? If someone burns a cd and gives it to you are you guilty? If you DL songs that you have already purchased at one time...

Is not FreeRepublic guilty of publishing copyrighted materials (excluding the LAT/WT) articles? Is someone guilty posting a picture taken by AP or some other news source without their expressed written permission? Do libraries pay royalties to authors?

One thing to keep in mind: For the most part, copyright law is the realm of civil, not criminal, law. In other words, alleged infringement is often in the eye of the infringed.

So, someone e-mailing you a pirated song, or giving you a burned CD -- these are not likely ripe for prosecution. Downloading songs, whether or not you own them -- that's a different story.

There are many, including me, who will tell you that Free Republic's posting of copyrighted material -- photos and stories -- is wrong. But again, infringement is in the eye of the infringed. Los Angeles Times and Washington Post have obviously been the only ones to see fit to pursue it.

As for libraries... sigh. Not the old library fallacy again. Yes, libraries pay royalties each time they purchase a book or CD. Once they own that media -- which is an authorized copy, unlike the stuff people download -- they can do with it whatever they want. Except for making new, unauthorized copies (like the stuff people download).

85 posted on 06/25/2003 8:07:27 PM PDT by wizzler
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To: wizzler
Thanks for the answers. Just dawned on me the irony of having a copy machine at my library though...G'night all.
93 posted on 06/25/2003 8:14:32 PM PDT by Normal4me
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To: wizzler
>>>>Except for making new, unauthorized copies

Really? Now I have about 20 years of making and having made copies of books and periodicals at the library. If the library did it, I had to have a copy of the cover.

Go figure!
180 posted on 06/25/2003 9:38:30 PM PDT by Calpernia (Remember the three R's: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.)
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