WEDNESDAY JAN 2, 2008, (News Locale) - Of late, in a bid to curb copyright violation, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been filing loads of lawsuits against music fans who are supposed to be distributing music online breaching copyright laws.  

It has also sent thousands of letters to college students and others warning them of legal action unless they pay for the damages. In many instances, the RIAA has also reportedly wrongly attacked individuals in these actions despite being innocents.

In fact, many have been accusing the RIAA of targeting individuals even if they buy a CD and rip it into a digital format to play it on their MP3 player even though they have purchased the rights to that music.

Reports say that the RIAA has indicted one Jeffrey Howell from Arizona for keeping a collection of 2000 songs on his personal computer. Jeffery has been accused of keeping "unauthorized copies of copyrighted recordings", music he scratched from legally purchased CDs from music stores.

Contrary to Jeffery’s claims, the RIAA says that the copies are "unauthorized copies of copyrighted recordings. Although the laws do not clearly mention that collecting CDs is illegal, the RIAA has made it clear that they intend to pursue the issue.

According to industry analysts, the RIAA that works on behalf of the music industry and promotes its cause, is pressed by the fact that the industry is plagued by falling sales as music fans are increasingly opting for free downloads and file sharing for their listening pleasure.

Hence, the RIAA has been persisting on the issue that it is illegitimate for someone who has legally bought a CD to transfer that music into his computer. Recently, the RIAA has stated on its website, "If you make unauthorized copies of copyrighted music recordings, you're stealing. You're breaking the law and you could be held legally liable for thousands of dollars in damages."

Meanwhile a New York lawyer Ray Beckerman, who has stood for people drawn to courts by the RIAA, has expressed shock and surprise over the industry's most recent move. He said that the existing law stipulated that a person can be held guilty of violating copyright rules if he is found distributing actual physical copies of the records.

However, the industry has been claiming that even possessing a personal copy of music on the computer is a violation of the law. This is incorrect and needs to be rectified.

 

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