Testimony today in Capitol Records, et al v. Jammie Thomas quickly and inadvertently turned to the topic of fair use when Jennifer Pariser, the head of litigation for Sony BMG, was called to the stand to testify. Pariser said that file-sharing is extremely damaging to the music industry and that record labels are particularly affected. In doing so, she advocated a view of copyright that would turn many honest people into thieves.
... Pariser has a very broad definition of “stealing.” When questioned by Richard Gabriel, lead counsel for the record labels, Pariser suggested that what millions of music fans do is actually theft.
The dirty deed? Ripping your own CDs or downloading songs you already own.
Gabriel asked if it was wrong for consumers to make copies of music which they have purchased, even just one copy. Pariser replied, “When an individual makes a copy of a song for himself, I suppose we can say he stole a song.” Making “a copy” of a purchased song is just “a nice way of saying 'steals just one copy',” she said.
Countless studies have shown that the majority of music on portable music players like the iPod comes from sources other than download services. For most people, that music is comprised primarily of songs “ripped” from CD collections to MP3 or some other comparable format. Indeed, most portable music players comes with software (like iTunes) which is designed to facilitate the easy ripping of CDs. According to Pariser's view, this is stealing.
[From Sony BMG's chief anti-piracy lawyer: “Copying” music you own is “stealing” ]
We've discussed Sony's strange view about converting CDs into MP3s in the past, but it still baffles me. By Sony's definition, one of Sony's best customers, me, is a thief because I like to keep my entire CD collection on my computer and on iPods. Assholes.
Previous Sony coverage:
Sony BMG and their Nefarious Plan
Sony Hates the iPodPiracy My Ass Its an Attack on the iPod
