At 08:08 PM 2/14/2001 -0500, you wrote:
>| If this were strictly enforced, half this country's net users would be
>| in prison! Is this something they're just talking about passing, or
>| has this actually passed into law?
>
>The actual law is attached. It is Public Law 105-147 passed and signed in
>1997. It appears that the RIAA claims are a rather liberal interpretation
>of the law and casual MP3 downloaders are not affected.
I actually got around to reading that after I posted. Their interpretation
was very liberal indeed, but they stated it so matter-of-factly that it
frightened me. Downloading an mp3 (a compressed format often not
even close to being a suitable substitute for the original, like a cassette
tape) and not charging a cent to anyone else who uploads it from you
could result in PRISON?
>I suppose this is as good a time as any to introduce myself. My name is
>Ryan Miller; I joined up a few days ago. I'm a graduate student in the
>Science and Technology Studies department at Rensselaer Polytechnic
>Institute. As a hobby I keep track of legal and political matters of
>interest and will soon begin to have a regular spot called 'Fact of the
>Week' on the WRPI radio show Blinded by Science that is informed by my
>researches. It has nothing (direct) to do with my studies however, which
>are in the history and sociology of science. If people are interested I'll
>start emailing the Fact to this list every week.
Welcome Ryan. I appreciate your clarification for me and I'm glad
to see you aboard. I'd be interested in any of your facts of the week
related to copyright law, particularly in terms of selling/downloading/
uploading music on the net. I'm beginning to fear that Don may be
right afterall...that the net, a seemingly very good thing for music
promotion and artistic sharing, is becoming a giant target for corproate
control...and may very well become less "free" than broadcasting itself.
I'm sorry but a prison sentence for mp3 downloading sounds a bit
extreme and not believable. Nevertheless, the fact that the RIAA
would even consider that happening in the first place seriously
depresses me. Taping music from a friend should never be on par
with material theft. Nothing is actually MISSING when an mp3 is
downloaded, is there?
Every Man every.manATpressthebutton.com
Press The Button, Midnight - 3 am Sundays
WRUW, 91.1 FM, Cleveland, OH
NETCAST http://www.wruw.org
HOMEPAGE http://www.pressthebutton.com
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