fairuseless.org

RIAA et al. says CD ripping, backups not fair use

PCWorld.com - Copyright Crackdown

Consumers need a voice in helping to define and uphold what constitutes 'fair use' in regards to CD copyright protection and what does not.

Doesn't anyone else feel steamrolled?

File-trading networks can be liable-court

Yahoo forces RIAA staff cutbacks…

So says Blog Maverick, Mark Cuban.

His point: Yahoo's new service effectively resets the market value of music, and by extension, greatly reduces potential damage claims against file-sharers--to the point where it's not worth a suit or another piece of legislation to try to stop them.

Talk about paradigm-shifts.

Slyck News - RIAA’s Grand Total: 10,037 - What are Your Odds?

Interesting view on your chances of getting "caught" as well as the notoriety and publicity generated on behalf of file-sharing products and services as a result of this sort of legal flailing.

Although articles such as these help illustrate the folly of the RIAA's tactics, they also tend to appeal to those who are prone to a kind of vigilantism or a Robin Hood complex of some form or another.

Fairuseless.org believes the over-zealousness on both sides of the file-sharing issue is only widening the gap. As the world has learned time and time again, extremism--in any form--can only generate net negative returns. Always.

Quieting the rancor needs to be the first step to a reasonable solution. The RIAA needs to stop its strong arm tactics and back off of its overly broad view on piracy. File-sharers, on the other hand, need to stop their flouting of the law by ceasing to download and mass-distribute content that they don't have rights to.

Starting there and then discussing the nature of usage and ownership in a thoughtful and intelligent manner may yield some more productive options. Fairuseless.org believes there is room for compromise. There should be reasonable extensions AND limits to use. Sharing and rights protection don't have to be mutally exclusive.

Both sides seem to have polarized to the most extreme positions they could possibly take and as a result have simply stopped thinking. Let's get creative.

Recording Industry's File Sharing Complaints Don't Hold Water

I've read the recent RIAA Report (PDF) and I have to agree with Mr. Newton. File-sharing is not the same thing as piracy. I'm not willing to go so far as to say file-sharing isn't capable of hurting the industry and artists, but let's stop using the terms interchangeably. Doing so only inhibits the ability to have an intelligent debate on the matter. The RIAA knows better. They think they benefit from this broader claim, but understanding the differences in what is going on in each situation--and calling them out, may lead to a more productive discussion and hopefully a resolution that works for consumers, artists, and the industry alike.

Just in case you haven't seen this yet:

Boing Boing: Bush's iPod filled with infringing goodness

Seems innocent enough... or is it???

When file-sharing is between a limited number of parties--be it via the internet or a mixed tape--is there any more/less of an infringement?
This model by Grouper begs the question.

How can common sense be entered into the equation? When does word of mouth, try before you buy, and plain ol' "sharing the experience" with those you love become infringement?

Testing Copyright Limits

Discuss (amongst friends).

A statistical analysis and a musician's nostaligic/philosophical viewpoint on music-sharing:

Piercing the peer–to–peer myths: An examination of the Canadian experience

[via slashdot]

The Best 90 Minutes of My Life

Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore is one of the coolest guys on the planet.