I have several music CDs with protection mechanisms, and I have learnt the hard way that they easily get so damaged that they're non-playable.
Therefore, when I buy a protected music CD I immediately make a personal "working" copy. How? I play it on an old 1-speed external CD-ROM drive and make the copying via MacOS 8.1.
I'm not trying to circumvent the protection in a technical sense, and since it is permitted under Danish law to make personal safety copies I'm completely legit.
I could have made a straight rip from the original, but I prefer playing the CDs at home - even top bit VBR compresssion is clearly detectable on my system
This is based on a description by someone who was targetted by Antipiratgruppen and put his experience on the Internet (if anyone wants the address, email me; unfortunately, it's in Danish). I'm retelling it briefly, to give a proper foundation to the discussion here at/.
The man in question came to his house one evening and was accosted by three men. They presented a warrant (NOT a search warrant in the American sense), saying that they had evidence that he had been running an eDonkey server, and demanding to get a printout of the log. The three men were representatives of Antipiratgruppen (a private organisation that has been empowered by RIAA and other copyright organizations to find and stop illegal copying of copyright protected material.
This technique is based on a recent change in Danish anti-piracy law which permits search on a person's premises by non-governmental staff if they can produce evidence making it probable that illegal copying has taken place. The law demands that a non-involved "computer expert" be present and do the actual handling of computer and data. The law also makes it legal for the representatives to refuse the owner physical contact with items suspected of being used for storing and copying of such material - if it seems there is a risk that the suspected evidence disappear or be damaged.
In the actual case, the owner was confused and didn't deny that he had *THREE MONTHS PREVIOUS* run an eDonkey server, but that he had not run it since, and he had no intentions of doing so again. The representatives of Antipiratgruppen insisted that he open his house and stay out of the way while they search his computer. He was informed that if he refused to do so, they would have to involve the police.
He opened his house and followed them into the computer room, trying to protest his innocence. The computer expert fired up the computer and began looking for the log file. Meanwhile, the two representatives saw some copied music CDs lying next to the computer. Citing this as probable cause (or something similar in Danish legalese), they insisted on taking them with them. The owner explained that these were copies of, 1) his own CDs, 2) CDs owned by his friends (in Denmark it is legal to copy a friend's CDs, for *non-distribution* purposes; or CDs borrowed from the local library, for that matter). The representatives then insisted on confiscating his CD collection and demanded that he make a list of which CDs had been copied from which friends's collections.
Meanwhile, the computer expert had, in his search for the log file, come across other files on the computer that he deemed to be copies of "other copyright protected material" (programs, games, etc). As a result, the representatives confiscated his computer. He has since been presented with a writ that he will be sued for illegal copying.
The owner didn't use the basic legal rights that he has, in the situation. He has afterwards complained about the way the incident happened and claimed that he was "pressurized" into opening his door and letting them confiscate the items; however, he cannot prove this, and the legal matters are... "legal".
If you would like to know more, I will answer questions posted here.
Peter J. Pedersen
engpjp
Slashdot Mirror
I have several music CDs with protection mechanisms, and I have learnt the hard way that they easily get so damaged that they're non-playable.
Therefore, when I buy a protected music CD I immediately make a personal "working" copy. How? I play it on an old 1-speed external CD-ROM drive and make the copying via MacOS 8.1.
I'm not trying to circumvent the protection in a technical sense, and since it is permitted under Danish law to make personal safety copies I'm completely legit.
I could have made a straight rip from the original, but I prefer playing the CDs at home - even top bit VBR compresssion is clearly detectable on my system
Regards
Peter J. Pedersen
This is based on a description by someone who was targetted by Antipiratgruppen and put his experience on the Internet (if anyone wants the address, email me; unfortunately, it's in Danish). I'm retelling it briefly, to give a proper foundation to the discussion here at /.
The man in question came to his house one evening and was accosted by three men. They presented a warrant (NOT a search warrant in the American sense), saying that they had evidence that he had been running an eDonkey server, and demanding to get a printout of the log. The three men were representatives of Antipiratgruppen (a private organisation that has been empowered by RIAA and other copyright organizations to find and stop illegal copying of copyright protected material.
This technique is based on a recent change in Danish anti-piracy law which permits search on a person's premises by non-governmental staff if they can produce evidence making it probable that illegal copying has taken place. The law demands that a non-involved "computer expert" be present and do the actual handling of computer and data. The law also makes it legal for the representatives to refuse the owner physical contact with items suspected of being used for storing and copying of such material - if it seems there is a risk that the suspected evidence disappear or be damaged.
In the actual case, the owner was confused and didn't deny that he had *THREE MONTHS PREVIOUS* run an eDonkey server, but that he had not run it since, and he had no intentions of doing so again. The representatives of Antipiratgruppen insisted that he open his house and stay out of the way while they search his computer. He was informed that if he refused to do so, they would have to involve the police.
He opened his house and followed them into the computer room, trying to protest his innocence. The computer expert fired up the computer and began looking for the log file. Meanwhile, the two representatives saw some copied music CDs lying next to the computer. Citing this as probable cause (or something similar in Danish legalese), they insisted on taking them with them. The owner explained that these were copies of, 1) his own CDs, 2) CDs owned by his friends (in Denmark it is legal to copy a friend's CDs, for *non-distribution* purposes; or CDs borrowed from the local library, for that matter). The representatives then insisted on confiscating his CD collection and demanded that he make a list of which CDs had been copied from which friends's collections.
Meanwhile, the computer expert had, in his search for the log file, come across other files on the computer that he deemed to be copies of "other copyright protected material" (programs, games, etc). As a result, the representatives confiscated his computer. He has since been presented with a writ that he will be sued for illegal copying.
The owner didn't use the basic legal rights that he has, in the situation. He has afterwards complained about the way the incident happened and claimed that he was "pressurized" into opening his door and letting them confiscate the items; however, he cannot prove this, and the legal matters are ... "legal".
If you would like to know more, I will answer questions posted here.
Peter J. Pedersen
engpjp