Daniel Spisak on Technology

From March 29, 2005 in the MGM vs. Grokster case, speaking for MGM and their assembled parties Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., Esq.,:

And let me clarify something I think is unclear from the amicus briefs. The record companies, my clients, have said, for some time now, and it’s been on their Website for some time now, that it’s perfectly lawful to take a CD that you’ve purchased, upload it onto your computer, put it onto your iPod.

Skip forward to Feburary 2, 2006 in the docket sent to the United States Copyright Office on Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of
Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies:

The submission asserts in its third example, “device and format shifting,” that such activities “are unquestionably fair uses” of lawfully purchased CDs, (C6 at 8); but among those questioning this conclusion is the Register, who noted in 2003 that “proponents have not established that space-shifting or platform-shifting is a noninfringing use.”46 2003 Rec. at 139.

46 See, infra, Section V(D), which addresses in detail space-shifting and format-shifting. Nor does the fact that permission to make a copy in particular circumstances is often or even “routinely” granted, see C6 at 8, necessarily establish that the copying is a fair use when the copyright owner withholds that authorization. In this regard, the statement attributed to counsel for copyright holders in the Grokster case, see id.,is simply a statement about authorization, not about fair use.

Translated into English this means the the RIAA, MPAA, and all the other organizations who signed off on this joint briefing docket believe that it is illegal to rip music you purchased on CD onto your iPod.

Let that sink in for a moment. Now why would these organizations seeming try to shoot themselves in the foot? I mean, they want to sell more CD’s at the end of the day, right? Well, yes and no. You see these companies make even more money off of digital downloads due to the greatly reduced costs of shipping, distribution and the like. Plus, as an added bonus (to the RIAA/MPAA that is) anyone who is downloading these digital files are wrapped in various kinds of Digital Rights Management (DRM). This DRM ensures that the people who purchase their digital content have only the rights that the MPAA/RIAA feel you are allowed to have as they see fit. The problem with CD’s is that Redbook compact disc standard has to be adhered to for play back in regular plane jane audio CD players to work.  Sure they music companies can put all kinds of wierd tracks onto their discs to make computers not play them but you could still easily take that disc, stick it into a decent standalone CD player with optical outputs and capture a bit for bit perfect recording. This is even alluded to in the breifing here:

Of course, “playback [of a lawfully acquired CD] on a modern CD device installed in personal computers … is unquestionably non-infringing,” as the Register found in 2003. 2003 Rec. at 154-55. But even in the circumstances described in these submissions, consumers may listen to their CDs, without the installation of any additional software (objectionable or otherwise), on other platforms, notably including stand-alone players that are compatible with CD Audio Redbook Format. The Register found in 2003 that this state of affairs was not “more than a mere inconvenience,” because “standard CD players are readily available and inexpensive.”

So there you have it. The music media companies want you to buy only that which nets them the most profit and the most control. They will do whatever they can to try and make you buy the same song as many times as possible in as many varied and different incompatible formats as they can get away with.