OT: legal obligations

[Kareem Shehata]

Standard disclaimer for this topic: I am not a lawyer, this is not legal
advice, anything written below is to be taken only at face value, blah, blah
blah...

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org [mailto:owner-tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org] On Behalf Of Tyler
> Aviss
> Sent: Wednesday 16 January 2008 20:23
> To: tlug-lxSQFCZeNF4 at public.gmane.org
> Subject: Re: [TLUG]: OT: legal obligations
> 
> To add to that.... how about your collection of pirated music and/or
> mp3's?
> How many people *don't* have that on their PC?
[KMS] 

Now that's an easy one to answer: how can you prove it's pirated?  I have a
stack of original CD's in the same room as my PC's.  If I hand you the PC
with my music, I still have a license for those songs.  The moment you copy
them to your HDD *you* have violated copyright laws, not me.

This is why CRIA hasn't been as lawsuit happy as the RIAA: the laws in
Canada (not to mention the courts, but that's another matter) aren't as
amenable to record companies badgering individuals.  Because of the "library
model", putting all of my songs on PC and leaving it open to everyone else
to see is not illegal.  You can look at the songs if you want.  But if you
copy them to your HDD, then you've just done the same thing as photocopying
a copyrighted work you borrowed from your local library, and that's contrary
to Canadian copyright law.

To the best of my knowledge, that's how it works.  At least until the Harper
government decides what's "best for all of us".

-kms


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