Richard J Kinch wrote:
Pat Ford writes:


I asked the intellectual property guy here at work ( we have a guy
who does
only IP stuff) if I'm allowed to have mp3s, he said if you have the
cd/vinyl/tape a back copy is legal, I don't have to make it, as long
as only 1 copy is ever used at the same time.


I can see why someone might feel that way, but being that copyrights are
arbitrary, both in basis and enforcement, who knows? I suspect RIAA would
say you need to pay for an MP3 re-encoding even if you own the PCM CD, you
didn't buy a license for re-encoding, and those rights belong to the
author, too. The dogma is that you don't own the music itself in any
Platonic-ideal sense, you only own the one copy of PCM bit patterns on the
CD, and (implicitly) a right to make unlimited copies (again, copyright is
not about making copies per se) consisting of vibrating air pressure, and
vibrations of your tympanic membranes, and neural copies in your brain
cells. However, the copies in vibrating air, tympanic membranes, and
neurons cannot be in a restaurant or retail establishment, unless you pay
yet another public-performance license.


I own most of Tom Lehrer's works on vinyl LPs, including his first
release on a 10" LP (Remember them?) They are stuffed in a carton with a
bunch of my other favorite LPs from the 50s and 60s, sitting on the
floor of a closet in our home.

I don't even own anything which can play LPs anymore, and I had no
compunction about downloading a bunch of his songs as MP3s through Kazaa
last year so that I could laugh at his wit again again and let friends
who were over hear them too.

I'm willing to take my chances with the copyright nazis over that.
Leherer and the recording companies got their pieces of silver from me
back when I bought the LPs new.

FWIW, at last count I heard that Tom Lehrer is still among the living
and teaches the occasional course at some Southern California college.
He's a contemporary of mine and I used to see him perform live in
Cambridge, Taxachusetts in my student daze.

I think I've about "saucered and blown" this topic, how about you?

Jeff

--
Jeffry Wisnia

(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"As long as there are final exams, there will be prayer in public
schools"