Well, there's also the matter of fair use, which RIAA and for that matter the AHRA conveniently ignores.Well, they don't ignore it. It's just a different set of rules that really doesn't apply to home copying. That's why I didn't bring it up.
My understanding of the AHRA is that it's legal codification of the RIAA's blank media extortion, and that it establishes the requirements for SCMS.For the most part, it is. And not only blank media extortion, but hardware copy-device manufacturing as well. (For those who don't know this yet, all blank digital recording media and home recording hardware such as DAT drives/tapes is taxed, with the proceeds of that tax going to the RIAA as reimbursement for home copying. That's where they get some of their money. By my reasoning, this means they've already signed their pact with the home-copying devil, so what are they whining about?)
But it also has a paragraph ("Section 1008") that states no infringement can be alleged based on the noncommercial copying done by a home user. It's that paragraph which protects us, and is, in fact, our reward for paying that extortion money in the form of manufacturer taxes passed onto consumers. The whole reason for the tax is so that we can copy stuff at home.
I suppose that the RIAA is up in arms because we're doing all this shit on PC's which are exempt from the tax. Section 1008 protects us with a blanket statement, while the tax only applies to specific media formats, with computers exempted. But like I said, they're the ones who signed away their souls in '92- it's no fair trying to take it out on us.
Can you point me to an online source of the text of the AHRA?Like I said, I'm no expert and most of the hot air I'm spewing is based on summaries more than the actual detailed text. One day I'll learn how to speak Klingonese and be able to decipher the real stuff. Anyway, here's the links for you:
Summary:
http://www.hrrc.org/ahrasum.htmlFull Text:
http://www.hrrc.org/ahra.htmlEnjoy!
Tony FabrisEmpeg #144
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