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Protect your right to copy and write CDs
Don't let the record labels run roughshod over your right to digitally duplicate the music you own. |
By Rik Fairlie
(3/6/02)
Although Pride's label is a little-known outfit in Nashville, industry giants such as Universal Music Group have already begun a campaign to stealth-market copy-proof CDs. Universal has issued a copy-protected album, More Fast and Furious, and company execs have said they plan to copy-protect a significant number of additional releases this year. Other big labels, including BMG, EMI, Sony, and Warner, also plan to sell compromised CDs but have turned down the volume on specific information.
Is the cure worse than the disease?
It all adds up to a flawed attempt to protect copyrights and quash music piracy, says U.S. Representative Rick Boucher (D-Virginia), a champion of consumers' fair-use rights. "I think the record labels are making an enormous mistake," he says. Boucher is on the money, and here's why you should up the ante.
| It all adds up to a flawed attempt to protect copyrights and quash music piracy. |  |
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Record companies haven't even agreed to label copy-proof discs, which means you won't know whether you have garbage until you buy it. Even if companies did label discs, the technology is a clear-cut violation of personal-use laws. "We have traditional fair-use rights that are embedded in the First Amendment and enable individuals to use a small amount of copyrighted material without consent from the copyright owner," Boucher says. "With CDs, you should be able to make a compilation CD in precisely the order you want or create a playlist on your computer as long as it's for personal use."
Protecting our fair-use rights
Boucher says that if the technology prevents consumers from playing a disc on a PC, it certainly infringes on fair-use rights. He's awaiting a response to a letter he sent the Recording Industry Association of America in January seeking clarification on whether the technology behind copy-proofing CDs violates the federal Audio Home Recording Act of 1992. The representative hasn't proposed any legislation--yet. "If I don't get a response, I will consider the next step," he says.
Congressional action is a sensible course, agrees Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual-property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a watchdog group that has been active in copyright battles. "Given the fact that we've had 20 years of expectations with the CD, I think we should consider passing legislation," he says. "When I lay down $18 for a CD, I expect to be able to copy it."
For now, record companies should agree to slap a warning label on copy-proof discs so that shoppers can decide whether they're willing to invest in a compromised CD. And, for good measure, they should segregate them in a separate section of the store, much the way DVDs occupy their own area.
Another option may be to sell these dysfunctional discs at a discount. Slim chance, according to von Lohmann. "We're a long way away from them offering choices like that; they're not even willing to label," he says.
| For now, record companies should agree to slap a warning label on copy-proof discs. | |
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Consumers concerned about copy-protected CDs should tap out letters to their congressional representatives. It's also a good idea to politely complain at the retail store; sure, you may be a nuisance, but your dissatisfaction just might boomerang to the record label. Finally, you have the right to return any copy-protected CD and demand a refund.
This clash over the right to copy music is just the overture. Von Lohmann warns that copyright owners are considering ways to block duplication of all kinds of content on a wide range of technologies, including HDTV, wireless networks, and hard drives. "We [the EFF] are in dozens of standards bodies trying to fight this," he says.
You should join the battle. If you pay full price, you're entitled to full and fair use. It's your data, after all. Rik Fairlie is the editor of Computer Shopper magazine. Questions or comments? Let us know.
