NationStates Jolt Archive

Is it legal to download songs that you have legally bought on CD etc?

Say, the Album is lost or damaged beyind all hope.

Yes.

depends on where you live, I suppose. In Canada, it's legal.

I dont know if the laws have been changed recently or are different overseas, but as of earlier this year you are legally entitled to own a backup copy of any music or software cd that you own.

Not according to copyright law. You purchase the CD with certain rights attached to it, like not broadcasting it, or using it in whole or part, etc... the same as any other item of media.

Copyright law would say you actually buy a limited license, and that the music just happens to be contained within it.

If you download the music with a long-term intent to keep (as opposed to listening to it once, for trial purpose) - and, if you are not paying for your download (effectively purchasing the licensed right) - downloading the music would then be an infringement of copyright law, exactly the same as if you didn't own the CD in the first place.

I'm pretty sure you can legally download any songs from the internet...

I'm not aware of any cases where the record company has actually won a case, they've only hyped their out of court settlements...

I dont know if the laws have been changed recently or are different overseas, but as of earlier this year you are legally entitled to own a backup copy of any music or software cd that you own.

This should still hold true everywhere (except maybe China, which refuses to honour copyright). So - you could back-up your CD, but you wouldn't be allowed to download a 'new' copy.

I'm pretty sure you can legally download any songs from the internet...

I'm not aware of any cases where the record company has actually won a case, they've only hyped their out of court settlements...

There is a difference between what the law allows, and what is legal.

You may get away with downloading (although most western countries seem to be tightening piracy policy), but it would still not be legal.

Bah. Well I live in Britain, I think that may be the case here.

Is it legal to download songs that you have legally bought on CD etc?

Say, the Album is lost or damaged beyind all hope.

Not in america. Courtesy of the RIAA

http://terror.snm-hgkz.ch/photos/albums/album11/riaa.sized.jpg

^Read, I still snicker over this little analogy :D

I think if you pay for the download, it is legal.

There is a difference between what the law allows, and what is legal.


I'm not aware of any law against placing a copy of a song and in the public domain.

But why should I pay for something I have bought? Especially since CDs are expensive.

Bah, downloading laws are arbitrary. Knock yourself out reguardless.

This is kinda off topic, but a kid at the college Im going to made a program that takes the mp3s off of Internet radio streams and stores them onto your HD, which is totally legal, and you just let it run and get the songs.

Bah, downloading laws are arbitrary. Knock yourself out reguardless.
I have stopped downloading now really (except if I leave a CD at a friends house), but I am not sure if the RIAA can do anything in Europe.

Yeah. You only have to worry about being sued if you Dl massive amounts of mainstream popsongs. Otherwise you will be ignored. Unless of course you are picked out randomly like that little girl and elderly lady who didnt even own computers.

The RIAA certainly affect you at all in any other contry except america unless your country has signed a free trade deal with the U.S very recently (Highly unlikely) or if your own country has a representative Recording industry lobbying group. But in that case it would be them and the RIAA going after you. But anyway. Im telling you you have nothing to worry about.

Yeah. You only have to worry about being sued if you Dl massive amounts of mainstream popsongs. Otherwise you will be ignored. Unless of course you are picke dout randomly like that little girl and elderly lady who didnt even own computers.
Well for a while I thought I was going to get dragged over hot coals for downloading this album (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000000E38/qid=1091540959/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_11_1/026-7227571-3969240).

What can I say, I liked one song, (the rest aren't as good though).

I think the RIAA stands for the Record Industry Association of America....so europe is safe I believe.

Yeah. You only have to worry about being sued if you Dl massive amounts of mainstream popsongs. Otherwise you will be ignored. Unless of course you are picke dout randomly like that little girl and elderly lady who didnt even own computers.

Harhar. Then with my musical taste, i'm in the clear.

This is kinda off topic, but a kid at the college Im going to made a program that takes the mp3s off of Internet radio streams and stores them onto your HD, which is totally legal, and you just let it run and get the songs.


Lol make that or find ... let me know. Been looking for a good one and have been severly wanting

Lol make that or find ... let me know. Been looking for a good one and have been severly wanting
There used to be good one on www.download.com but it seems to have disappeared now.

I'm not aware of any law against placing a copy of a song and in the public domain.

If you own the rights to a song (if, for example, this is your little garage band), you have the right to put your music in the public domain in any manner you choose. (Although your choice of vector may be illegal, for example if you spammed people with your track).

If you do not own the rights to a song, you have no 'legal' right to put it in the public domain - you can't really burn discs of it to hand out to friends, you can't really even put a sample of it on your website, without legal permission.

In reality - popping a short sample onto your website is unlikely to get prosecuted.

Similarly, if storing it on your own hard-drive (and it's only your FIRST copy), there is no reason why you should not have the material available publically... the inference here is that no-one else should download it out of your drive without legal permission.

This was the problem with Napster... there was a semi-formal agreement that you were going to share files over a peer-to-peer network.

The person who is most commonly being targetted, is the individual that downloads a track without being covered by some kind of license agreement or legal contract. i.e. someone who downloads from a pay-site is buying the license, but if you download from a free site, you are subject to whatever licensing is on the music itself. (Which may be none - if the band has agreed to release the product into the public domain).

It's a thorny battle-ground, and we can expect more prosecutions, because it is a revenue stream, and people hate to lose revenue.

Maybe it's not right... but it is law.

I have stopped downloading now really (except if I leave a CD at a friends house), but I am not sure if the RIAA can do anything in Europe.

Yeah, you're safe. You see, I have a problem with downloading movies, cause the MPAA came out and asked you nicely through a series of commercials to stop because you're not hurting the major studios, you're hurting the little guy that makes the coffee (which is probably crap but atleast they were nice about it). Now when it comes to music the RIAA are being absolute pricks about the whole thing, I don't download myself, but if you do more power to you for sticking it to the man. You don't launch lawsuits against your customers, it's just not good buisness, and many people that I talk to that do download music just wouldn't have the music to begin with if they had to pay for it, or they would just go to the library take out a cd and rip it which is um all but impossible to detect.

Well it's illegal but you could try burning it to your hard drive.
CD drives on computers can read a very badly damaged disc.
I have a few CD's so messed up I thought they would never work.
And my comp read them fine.

Well, I only ever download things for trials - if I like them, I'll go out and buy a copy, and if I don't like it, it gets deleted.

I still think the RIAA should STFU though. Seriously, if they hadn't been reaming people for years over the price of cds, pirating wouldn't be nearly as rife as it is now. When you compare the price of cassetes (remember them? They would have cost more to produce than CDs... all those little spinning things and such) with the price of a CD, you really have to ask where you're money is going. They're still paying approximately the same amount to the artist, and the same amount for production - so where's my money going, exactly? Am I really meant to pay $15-$17 for the paper cover and the CD case?

/rant

Yeah, you're safe. You see, I have a problem with downloading movies, cause the MPAA came out and asked you nicely through a series of commercials to stop because you're not hurting the major studios, you're hurting the little guy that makes the coffee (which is probably crap but atleast they were nice about it). Now when it comes to music the RIAA are being absolute pricks about the whole thing, I don't download myself, but if you do more power to you for sticking it to the man. You don't launch lawsuits against your customers, it's just not good buisness, and many people that I talk to that do download music just wouldn't have the music to begin with if they had to pay for it, or they would just go to the library take out a cd and rip it which is um all but impossible to detect.

I have to agree with this - the few songs I like I download to keep - it's the movies I only download trials of.

It should be ok. I mean you have already paid for the CD. And if it is ruined beyond playing then I'm sure you are a devoted fan and deserve the songs.

Personally I don’t download … I rip … I will hear a song a friend has and borrow the cd.

Reason being , I usually find songs that are 10 times better then the one or two singles buried in their somewhere. I just leave it loop in my truck till I like some of them :)


And as for the outrageous cost for cd’s I agree something should be done. I mean think about it I have seen 50 packs of cd-r ‘s for what like 11 bucks (just taking the actual usual not on sale not bargain basement prices … I know you can find them out there for like 4 bucks for 100)


Now lets figure … retail cd-r’s are 20 cents a peace! No there is NO way they spend that much for the cd’s … dealing non retail and such I bet they don’t pay more then 5 – 10 cents a cd

With printing

Casing

Distributing

Paying royalties

Like 4 bucks a cd :-P

[/rant] myself lol

But yeah I used to download … now I stick to music video’s and comedy clips :-P

I didn't read all of the posts but I think some of your are confused...
The only people that anyone is going after are the major uploaders. So as long as you don't make a lot of copyrighted songs available for upload, you should be safe to download all you want (although it probably is still illegal).

I didn't read all of the posts but I think some of your are confused...
The only people that anyone is going after are the major uploaders. So as long as you don't make a lot of copyrighted songs available for upload, you should be safe to download all you want (although it probably is still illegal).

Actually they're running sting ops with bit torrent now to get everyone, they put up a torrent and the tracker is an RIAA server soo uh, they have your hand in the cookie jar.

Actually they're running sting ops with bit torrent now to get everyone, they put up a torrent and the tracker is an RIAA server soo uh, they have your hand in the cookie jar.
I didn't get any cookies though?

Actually they're running sting ops with bit torrent now to get everyone, they put up a torrent and the tracker is an RIAA server soo uh, they have your hand in the cookie jar.

Opal is still right … they are catching major caches of songs not really individual downloader’s unless you make yourself particularly annoying lol

Just no real way to know if this is their first or thousandth song … and while it is still illegal to have only one , they don’t bother with small fish. Even the recording industry does not have the money to go against that many individuals

Hell all they would have to say is “I want a public defender” irregardless of how the court cases turn out there will be billions in lawyer fee’s with very little return