Whose Copyright?

Are we carrying this copyright business too far? Recently, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) slapped a federal case against a man for transferring 2000 songs from legally-purchased CDs onto his personal computer. The RIAA contends that the man’s action is illegal.

Give me a break. If I want to transfer legal music to my personal computer, why is it anybody’s business but my own? How does it become illegal – especially since there is no commercial transaction involved? On the contrary, I would regard it as an invasion of my privacy.

As a sort-of writer myself, I fully appreciate the necessity for copyright laws and penalties. Creativity, after all, involves a little bit of inspiration and a lot of effort. It would certainly be unfair and unethical to plagiarize another artist’s work and claim it as my own. Plus, it would hurt the original artist’s commercial interests.

In the case of the man being sued by the RIAA, however, he is not claiming any of the music as his own production. Nor is he harming anyone’s business. Are people going to buy less CDs because he transferred his own legal CDs to his own computer? I do it myself, in order to make customized CDs sorted by mood or genre, strictly for my own listening pleasure; and sometimes as gifts for special friends. Remember all those mix tapes we used to make for our romantic partners all those years ago? This is the same principle; only the recording medium is different. So does that mean we are all felons? Come on, guys.

How far are they going to stretch this idiocy? Almost all of us have forwarded hundreds of jokes we receive by email to friends. Presumably some people wrote the jokes. We don’t acknowledge them, because we simply do not know who they are. So are we infringing the copyright of the original composers? Does it give them grounds to sue us? This action by the RIAA could lead to a dangerous spiral.

I am all for reasonable protection of an individual’s rights; but let us get a sense of proportion here.