So, the RIAA won the second trial against the Minnesota woman accused of copyright violations. She made songs available for download on a peer-to-peer network.
Now, I didn’t follow the trial and am not claiming to be an expert in this field of law. A $1.92 million dollar fine for sharing 24 songs sure sounds out of line.
Is the RIAA alienating their customers with these types of actions? Sure. Were the applicable laws written for recorded music? No. They were written for player pianos!
Then again, the law is the law. I don’t like the fact that the speed limit where I live is 55 MPH, while it’s 75 in Michigan.
I have choices. I can ignore the limit and risk a ticket. I can lobby my legislature to change the limit. Or, I can move to Michigan.
What I can’t do is tell the officer that the law is unfair and expect to be told to go on my journey.
People have a choice regarding recorded music. If they think the RIAA is the tool of the devil, or that prices for albums are too high, then they can simply stop buying.
If enough people take the same action, the laws of supply and demand will lower prices. Or they can work to have the laws changed.
For those who think music should be free, do they expect to work without being paid? The creators of the songs and music have a right to protect their work. Now, how the RIAA is included in the mix is another long discussion.
And don’t forget that copyright laws extend beyond simply sharing music files.
Synching songs to slideshows, home movies, web ads, etc. are also covered and have their own set of fines.
Just read the iTunes legal document that you agree to every time you purchase a song and you’ll begin to understand how big the issue is.
I’d love to hear your comments and opinions regarding this highly volatile topic. You can read the details of the trial here.
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