Are private copies legal?
Michael
I am from Germany and I'm going to study in the USA during the next
academic year. I'm a music freak but there is no way to take all of my
CDs with me. In Germany we have a law that allows us to make up to 3
private copies of CDs that we bought legally. So I planned to make mp3
copies of approximately 150 CDs (all of which I bought legally) and
burn them on CD-R's or store them on harddisk. By doing so I could
take with me a lot more songs than if I took with me the original CDs.
I'm afraid I could break american copyright laws by doing so and I
don't want any trouble. Could you please tell me about the legal
consequences if I did as I told you. Keep in mind that it's legal
here. I would only 'import' these mp3 files - either on CDs or on
harddisk.
Thank you very much, regards,
Michael
Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus
"Michael" <mek...@kemi.de> wrote in message
news:9fd1d25a.04082...@posting.google.com...
Assuming that you have *some* Material covered by American Copyright Law,
that is, that not All your Music is German or Other European Origin, or
Public Domain, the "Fair Use Doctrine" in American Copyright Law permits one
to LEGALLY make *at least* One Copy "For Personal Use"...
Of course, that "Personal Use" CANNOT be for the Purpose of "Personal
Profit" in Selling that copy to another...
You can Avoid any Possible Entanglement in "Sharing" Copyrighted Material
Complaints by NOT employing Kazaa... LimeWire... etc, to "Share" your Music
via the Internet...
Naughtius "Deutsche Grammaphon Gesellschaft" Maximus
PTravel
"Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus" <blo...@BUTTFUCKjesus.org>
wrote in message news:7emdnWiOAuA...@adelphia.com...
>
> "Michael" <mek...@kemi.de> wrote in message
> news:9fd1d25a.04082...@posting.google.com...
> > Hello,
> >
> > I am from Germany and I'm going to study in the USA during the next
> > academic year. I'm a music freak but there is no way to take all of my
> > CDs with me. In Germany we have a law that allows us to make up to 3
> > private copies of CDs that we bought legally. So I planned to make mp3
> > copies of approximately 150 CDs (all of which I bought legally) and
> > burn them on CD-R's or store them on harddisk. By doing so I could
> > take with me a lot more songs than if I took with me the original CDs.
> > I'm afraid I could break american copyright laws by doing so and I
> > don't want any trouble. Could you please tell me about the legal
> > consequences if I did as I told you. Keep in mind that it's legal
> > here. I would only 'import' these mp3 files - either on CDs or on
> > harddisk.
> > Thank you very much, regards,
> > Michael
>
> Assuming that you have *some* Material covered by American Copyright
Law,
> that is, that not All your Music is German or Other European Origin, or
> Public Domain, the "Fair Use Doctrine" in American Copyright Law permits
one
> to LEGALLY make *at least* One Copy "For Personal Use"...
That's wrong.
The AHRA of the Copyright Act precludes infringement liability for making
copies, for personal use, of analog and/or digital recordings. It has
nothing to do with fair use and, in fact, fair use doctrine does not permit
making copies.
You are probably thinking of section 117 of the Copyright Act, which permits
making one archival copy of a _computer program_ for backup purposes. This
would not apply to audio recordings.
What the OP proposes to do is to transform his original CDs into MP3s and
bring them into the US. This kind of media shifting probably would be
permitted under fair use and, at any rate, comes within the AHRA liability
exemption.
Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus
"PTravel" <ptr...@ruyitang.com> wrote in message
news:2p47v8F...@uni-berlin.de...
Thank you... I'll take your Opinion Under Advisement...
I'm sure Interested Readers will do The Same...
>
> The AHRA of the Copyright Act precludes infringement liability for making
> copies, for personal use, of analog and/or digital recordings. It has
> nothing to do with fair use and, in fact, fair use doctrine does not
permit
> making copies.
>
> You are probably thinking of section 117 of the Copyright Act, which
permits
> making one archival copy of a _computer program_ for backup purposes.
This
> would not apply to audio recordings.
Except that it Does, particularly according to Long-Standing CaseLaw..
Admin Rulings... and Secondary Opinions...
>
> What the OP proposes to do is to transform his original CDs into MP3s and
> bring them into the US.
And?
> This kind of media shifting probably would be
> permitted under fair use and, at any rate, comes within the AHRA liability
> exemption.
Soooo...
Your Point was?
[Snip]
Naughtius "Losing Patience With Argument Clinicians" Maximus
Lee Hollaar
Ignoring all the irrelevant stuff in the past replies about fair use
and the Audio Home Recording Act and Section 117, here's an answer
to your question.
First, if German copyright law allows you to make the copies as you
say, then making them in German would not be a copyright infringement
no matter what United States copyright law says.
So, the question is whether when you are in the United States, you
will do anything that is an infringement of United States copyright
law. There are six different acts that are copyright infringements
in the United States, as provided in 17 U.S.C. 106:
(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work
to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by
rental, lease, or lending;
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic
works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual
works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic
works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works,
including the individual images of a motion picture or other
audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work
publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.
Since you didn't say that you were going to be performing or displaying
the songs publicly, which means "to perform or display it at a place
open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons
outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances is
gathered," we can ignore (4), (5), and (6).
Since you aren't preparing derivative works, we can ignore (2).
So, we are left with (1) and (3).
Don't make any more copies, and you won't infringe (1). Don't give your
CDs to anybody else, or make them available on a "file sharing" system,
and you won't infringe (3).
Have a great time in the United States!
Lee
Arthur L. Rubin
You're wrong. Look under import regulations. If a copy was made
which would have been illegal under US law, it's likely to be
illegal to import into the US.
Lee Hollaar
The import regulations (17 USC 602) have two different subsections.
(a) Importation into the United States, without the authority of
the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords
of a work that have been acquired outside the United States is an
infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or
phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501.
This subsection does not apply to -- ...
(2) importation, for the private use of the importer and not for
distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy
or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person
arriving from outside the United States with respect to copies or
phonorecords forming part of such person's personal baggage ...
Which certainly sounds like the original poster. So, most likely no
infringement liability there.
(b) In a case where the making of the copies or phonorecords would
have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had
been applicable, their importation is prohibited. In a case where
the copies or phonorecords were lawfully made, the United States
Customs Service has no authority to prevent their importation unless
the provisions of section 601 are applicable. In either case, the
Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to prescribe, by regulation,
a procedure under which any person claiming an interest in the
copyright in a particular work may, upon payment of a specified
fee, be entitled to notification by the Customs Service of the
importation of articles that appear to be copies or phonorecords
of the work.
(Section 601 is about importations before July 1, 1986, of nondramatic
literary material, and is there because of the old requirement of such
works having to be printed in the U.S. or Canada.)
So, under subsection (b) the imporation can be blocked, but it doesn't
have the penalties of an infringement.
PTRAVEL
"Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus" <blo...@BUTTFUCKjesus.org>
1. There are no such things as "Administrative Rulings" with respect to
copyright law. The federal courts of the United States have exclusive
jurisdiction over copyright matters since 1978 when common law copyright was
eliminated.
2. There is no such sthing as a "Secondary Opinion."
3. Feel free to cite to a decision which has held that audio recordings
come within Section 117 of the Copyright Act. I'm not aware of any.
>
>>
>> What the OP proposes to do is to transform his original CDs into MP3s and
>> bring them into the US.
>
> And?
And it therefore comes within the AHRA.
>
>> This kind of media shifting probably would be
>> permitted under fair use and, at any rate, comes within the AHRA
>> liability
>> exemption.
>
> Soooo...
>
> Your Point was?
I had two points: (1) The OP can bring his MP3s into the US legally, and
(2) You've gotten the law wrong.
>
> [Snip]
>
> Naughtius "Losing Patience With Argument Clinicians" Maximus
Sorry, but copyright law is arcane and, as you've shown, not something
that's readily understood by laypeople. I agree, however, that it does take
patience to learn it.
>
>
PTRAVEL
"Lee Hollaar" <hol...@faith.cs.utah.edu> wrote in message
news:cgj5i2$8lb$1...@vegh.ks.cc.utah.edu...
> In article <9fd1d25a.04082...@posting.google.com>
> mek...@kemi.de (Michael) writes:
>>I am from Germany and I'm going to study in the USA during the next
>>academic year. I'm a music freak but there is no way to take all of my
>>CDs with me. In Germany we have a law that allows us to make up to 3
>>private copies of CDs that we bought legally. So I planned to make mp3
>>copies of approximately 150 CDs (all of which I bought legally) and
>>burn them on CD-R's or store them on harddisk. By doing so I could
>>take with me a lot more songs than if I took with me the original CDs.
>>I'm afraid I could break american copyright laws by doing so and I
>>don't want any trouble. Could you please tell me about the legal
>>consequences if I did as I told you. Keep in mind that it's legal
>>here. I would only 'import' these mp3 files - either on CDs or on
>>harddisk.
>
> Ignoring all the irrelevant stuff in the past replies about fair use
> and the Audio Home Recording Act and Section 117, here's an answer
> to your question.
As I'm sure you're aware, importation of infringing copies into the US is
illegal. Accordingly the AHRA is absolutely relevant, since it controls
whether the copies will be treated as illegally infringing or not. Section
117 has absolutely nothing to do with anything, which is what I pointed out
to another poster.
>
> First, if German copyright law allows you to make the copies as you
> say, then making them in German would not be a copyright infringement
> no matter what United States copyright law says.
Of course not, but bringing them into the United States would violate law
_if_ they were infringing under US law.
>
> So, the question is whether when you are in the United States, you
> will do anything that is an infringement of United States copyright
> law.
Sorry, but that's not the question, since importation of infringing copies
is illegal.
Lee Hollaar
>Sorry, but that's not the question, since importation of infringing copies
>is illegal.
Sorry to you, but importation is illegal only in certain circumstances,
and one of the exceptions (17 USC 602(a)(2)) pretty much fits what the
original poster was trying to do -- import for private use in his
personal baggage. See my previous post.
Importing an infringing copy is not illegal in the same sense as an
infringement, in that what happens is that the copies are taken away
from you. But note in the language of 17 USC 602(b) the limitation
on the Customs Service: "In a case where the copies or phonorecords
were lawafully made," (as is the case here, because they were permitted
under German law, "the United States Customs Service has no authority
to prevent their imporation unless the provisions of section 601 are
applicable." (Section 601 has to do with importations of certain
copies before July 1, 1986.)
So, "importation of infringing copies is illegal" vastly overstates
the law, and in particular ignores just the exception that applies
to the original poster.
Arthur L. Rubin
>
> In article <412D1A96...@sprintmail.com> "Arthur L. Rubin" <ronni...@sprintmail.com> writes:
> >Lee Hollaar wrote:
> >> So, the question is whether when you are in the United States, you
> >> will do anything that is an infringement of United States copyright
> >> law.
...
> >You're wrong. Look under import regulations. If a copy was made
> >which would have been illegal under US law, it's likely to be
> >illegal to import into the US.
>
> The import regulations (17 USC 602) have two different subsections.
>
> (a) Importation into the United States, without the authority of
> the owner of copyright under this title, of copies or phonorecords
> of a work that have been acquired outside the United States is an
> infringement of the exclusive right to distribute copies or
> phonorecords under section 106, actionable under section 501.
> This subsection does not apply to -- ...
> (2) importation, for the private use of the importer and not for
> distribution, by any person with respect to no more than one copy
> or phonorecord of any one work at any one time, or by any person
> arriving from outside the United States with respect to copies or
> phonorecords forming part of such person's personal baggage ...
>
> Which certainly sounds like the original poster. So, most likely no
> infringement liability there.
OK. If he plays the MP3s for friends, though....?
>
> (b) In a case where the making of the copies or phonorecords would
> have constituted an infringement of copyright if this title had
> been applicable, their importation is prohibited....
...
> So, under subsection (b) the imporation can be blocked, but it doesn't
> have the penalties of an infringement.
Agreed.
Lee Hollaar
Would be a private use, at least if you consider a private use as one
that isn't public, and look at the definition of a public use in
Section 101 and its requirement for "a substantial number of persons
outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances
is gathered.
PTravel
> In article <updXc.8215$QJ3....@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com> "PTRAVEL"
<ptr...@ruyitang.com> writes:
> >Sorry, but that's not the question, since importation of infringing
copies
> >is illegal.
>
> Sorry to you, but importation is illegal only in certain circumstances,
> and one of the exceptions (17 USC 602(a)(2)) pretty much fits what the
> original poster was trying to do -- import for private use in his
> personal baggage. See my previous post.
Which was exactly my point. I was responding to your statement that my
discussion re: legality of the copy was irrelevant. It's not irrelevant, as
it is relevant to importation. In this instance, as you've noted (and as I
stated in my post), the OP may bring in and use his MP3s.
>
> Importing an infringing copy is not illegal in the same sense as an
> infringement, in that what happens is that the copies are taken away
> from you. But note in the language of 17 USC 602(b) the limitation
> on the Customs Service: "In a case where the copies or phonorecords
> were lawafully made," (as is the case here, because they were permitted
> under German law, "the United States Customs Service has no authority
> to prevent their imporation unless the provisions of section 601 are
> applicable." (Section 601 has to do with importations of certain
> copies before July 1, 1986.)
>
> So, "importation of infringing copies is illegal" vastly overstates
> the law, and in particular ignores just the exception that applies
> to the original poster.
Okay, if you prefer: importation of infringing copies may be illegal.
Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus
"PTRAVEL" <ptr...@ruyitang.com> wrote in message
news:7ndXc.8213$QJ3...@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
[MUST... SNIP... TRIPE...]
>
> 1. There are no such things as "Administrative Rulings" with respect to
> copyright law. The federal courts of the United States have exclusive
> jurisdiction over copyright matters since 1978 when common law copyright
was
> eliminated.
>
> 2. There is no such sthing as a "Secondary Opinion."
Of course not...
>
> 3. Feel free to cite to a decision which has held that audio recordings
> come within Section 117 of the Copyright Act.
Gosh... why don't YOU?
> I'm not aware of any.
UNDERSTATEMENT of The Year...
[CHRIST!! WHEN will These People Figger Out *SNIP*???]
Naughtius "Write If You Get Work... Or... DON'T..." Maximus
PTravel
"Naughtius "The Twinkies Made Me Do It" Maximus" <blo...@BUTTFUCKjesus.org>
>
> "PTRAVEL" <ptr...@ruyitang.com> wrote in message
> news:7ndXc.8213$QJ3...@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
>
> [MUST... SNIP... TRIPE...]
>
> >
> > 1. There are no such things as "Administrative Rulings" with respect to
> > copyright law. The federal courts of the United States have exclusive
> > jurisdiction over copyright matters since 1978 when common law copyright
> was
> > eliminated.
> >
> > 2. There is no such sthing as a "Secondary Opinion."
>
> Of course not...
>
> >
> > 3. Feel free to cite to a decision which has held that audio recordings
> > come within Section 117 of the Copyright Act.
>
> Gosh... why don't YOU?
Because there aren't any.
>
> > I'm not aware of any.
>
> UNDERSTATEMENT of The Year...
>
> [CHRIST!! WHEN will These People Figger Out *SNIP*???]
>
> Naughtius "Write If You Get Work... Or... DON'T..." Maximus
Some of us work as lawyers, and some of use are . . . you.
>
>