Post #25 Music Piracy

I checked out the RIAA website (Recording Industry Association of America) and looked at the legal music sites. There were about 60 websites that offer music that is legal to download. Next I clicked on the list of rules to follow and what the law says. This website was helpful, www.campusdownloading.com (faq). It was helpful in figuring out what's legal and what isn't. Here is what is said about peer-to-peer (p2p) downloading: "We are not against P2P services. We are against people who steal and illegally distribute copyrighted music that doesn’t belong to them. The music industry has been a major beneficiary of new technology (from wax cylinders to vinyl to LPs to CDs), and the current technological developments are no exception. But let's face it, even great technology can be abused. And that's what the industry is confronting right now. We have to figure out how to take advantage of the great new delivery systems that the Internet offers, without being seriously damaged by uncontrolled piracy. P2P in particular can really be a fabulous technology - but right now it's doing far more harm than good. (So surveys show.)"

I looked at RIAA- Piracy Online and on the Street.
Represents the recod industry and not everyone agrees with the RIAA
www.Boycott-riaa.com opposed the RIAA
www.eff.org (Electronic Frontier Foundation) tells you "how-not-to-get-sued-for-file-sharing."
Enforcement: The Wikipedia article on this topic has a disclaimer that the site's "neutrality is disputed."

DRM - digital rights management - also a Wikipedia entry
Digital rights management (DRM) is an umbrella term that refers to access control technologies used by publishers and copyright holders to limit usage of digital media or devices. It may also refer to restrictions associated with specific instances of digital works or devices.
EFF disagrees with the use of DRM.

Copyright and Libraries: General Rules
Music - Follow the RIAA interpretation
Movies: Follow the guidelines of the library's public performance license.
Copyrighted printed works can not be reproduced in their entirety
Have permission to use artwork for posters, handouts, and bookmarks.
When creating online content make sure to have persmission to use other peoples work and to give credit. Follow the Creative Commons guidelines.

More on burning a song to CD later.