What’s permitted and what’s outlawed in digital music?
It’s perfectly legal to take CDs you purchased in a store, put them in your computer and “rip” (copy in a compressed format) the songs to your hard drive. And you are also permitted to “burn” copies of the songs onto CDs for your own personal use. But it’s not OK to get those same songs from a service like Kazaa or LimeWire and make them available on the Internet.
How do I know if I’m sharing songs?
When you join a file-sharing service, a folder for shared files is generated. Typically, if you do nothing, all the songs you download will go into that folder and automatically become available to the entire world every time you go online. If the RIAA picks you as a target you can be liable for up to $150,000 a song.
Wow. Can I turn off the sharing function and avoid that risk?
Yes, the software allows you to do that. If you want to share songs in the public domain, or ones you have created yourself and want to distribute, be sure to clear the file of anything under copyright.
How about just downloading songs? Is that illegal?
Yes, but you probably won’t get caught by downloading and not sharing. You just have to deal with your conscience.
If it wasn’t me who used the service but a friend or relative using my Internet connection, am I liable for damages?
Yes.
What about the amnesty that I hear the RIAA is offering if you sign a confession and take the files off your disk?
That will prevent the RIAA from suing you, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation warns that other copyright holders might file suit against you–and have an easier time, since you’ve voluntarily admitted to committing a crime.
So if my kid has been doing this and I don’t want to get sued, what should I do?
Get rid of the songs, ditch the file-sharing service and hope that you’re not already in the cross hairs. Since the record industry has millions of violators to choose from, odds are you’re not one of them.
