> Don't worry about the other talk, this is very legal.
> Distribution for a
> fee
s because it was
> technically
> legal....
I make no personal judgement on MD trading at all (or for that matter
trading of CDs or books or any other material the subject of copyright), but
I do Not believe that the above statement is true, and in fact suspect it is
potentially misleading.
Copyright is infringed when you make a copy of something that is subject to
copyright without a license from the copyright holder or without other
lawful permission.
As I understand copyright law, copyright is infringed whether you receive
money for unlawfully distributing a copy of a work subject to copyright or
not. The right to copy the work belongs to the copyright holder, and you
don't have the legal right to sell it or give it away.
There may be lawful permission in some jurisdictions to make a copy of your
own CDs at home, OTOH there may not be but the record companies/RIAA are
happy enough with people making one copy for personal use and that's why
they signed up to SCMS. I've never heard of legal permission for non-profit
distribution of copies of copyrighted recordings.
Sorry, guys, I'm really not trying to play "Mr Serious Law Guy" or anything,
but I'm sick of hearing this issue come up and people bending the truth
about the legality of trading for the sake of a simple (wrong) answer. The
issue isn't really "Is it illegal?". The real issues are: (a) are BMG or
Sony or whoever going to prosecute John Anybody for infringing copyright on
10 CDs (probably not, but you never know), and (b) Do you morally have a
problem with infringing copyright? But whether you are morally opposed or
acquiescent to it, it's still unlawful.
Richard Lang
Solicitor
Duncan Cotterill
Christchurch, New Zealand
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
tel: (++64)-3-379-2430 fax: (++64)-3-379-7097
http://www.duncancotterill.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
To stop getting this list send a message containing just the word
"unsubscribe" to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
