The RIAA went from something I didn't know existed to something I hate with an undying passion faster than anything other than
Van Helsing and
turkey slapping. On
several occasions, I have written about their big, fat, stupid antiquated doings and
why they deserve to be choked to death with Rosie's exercise unitard.
So what are the filthy bastards up to now? Ensuring that their scheme of blackmailing people by threatening legal action is universally applicable.
RIAA lawyers now claim that you are violating copyright law if you rip a CD
you own to
your own computer.
That's like saying anyone who paints a painting or draws a sketch of any copyrighted material is a law breaker, and I'll be damned if the pigs are going to arrest me for my notebooks filled with sketches of Hannah Montana.
The lawyers claim it's illegal because the user is transferring the music into a medium “not of the artist's choosing.” By that logic, I shouldn't be allowed to whistle anything from the new
Rogue Wave CD because, after all, aren't lip-formed atmospheric vibrations an “unauthorized medium?”
What does this mean for you? Probably nothing, unless you're unlucky enough to be selected at random from millions of liable people and sued by the RIAA. If that happens, you are now not only liable for that copy of
P.S. I Love You on your hard drive, but also every song on your iPod you can't prove you bought through iTunes. Start saving those e-receipts, folks.
And for the record, the Rogue Wave thing wasn't product placement, I just like them. In fact, I think I'll go rip their new CD to my iPod.
Comic maliciously pirated from Toothpaste For Dinner.
Besides blogging for CRACKED, Michael also makes hilarious videos as writer and co-founder of
Those Aren't Muskets!
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