Is this illegal

I strongly expect this is illegal, but am asking for someone in the know to confirm this.

Is it illegal for a second hand cd store in California to sell coppies of CDs? Does it matter if the CD is in print or not?

Cheers, Bippy

Selling copies of CDs is illegal in every state whether still in print or not.

Every CD I own is a copy, of the master.
I buy a newspaper copy or the latest copy of Maxim all the time. I also just bought a copy of Unreal Tournament for my computer.

What exactly do you mean by “copies”, Bippy?

Definitely, some clarification is in order. Are these bootleg type CD’s, or unwanted CD’S up for re-sale?

Sorry, didn’t realise what I said was unclear.

Yes these are CDR’s containing copies of currently copywrited material.

I did say I was pretty certain this was illegal. I just didn’t want to be mistaken if there was a special case for out of print CDs. A local store, that I otherwise like a lot is doing this (selling copies of out of print CD’s including reproduced packaging) I wanted to be Certain whether or not it was illegal.

Cheers, Bippyt

illegal

Would they be allowed to claim they bought them in good faith of the seller (I assume they got them like they get there other second hand cds) though when the CD is looked at it is obvious as the CD platters themselves are simple CDRs?

Suppose I bought a new CD, and made a backup copy of it in case it got destroyed. Perfectly legal.

Now what if the CD did get destroyed? Luckily, I still have my backup copy. I could sell the CD I originally bought, why can’t I sell the backup? I purchased the content, not the medium.

Granted, I very seriously doubt what Bippy is seeing is people selling all their backups of destroyed CDs.

Nope. That’s a copyright violation. You have no right to make backup copies unless you’re a library.

And, of course, since that assumption is false, the rest of your argument is meaningless.

If they bought a CD in an original case and later discovered it was a copy, they could probably avoid a lawsuit if they destroy the CD (actually, they could even if they knew the copy was illegal).

However, if the CD is not an original CD, they are a copyright violation and the store can be sued for it.

I don’t think so. If I buy a CD, I can make unlimited copies of that CD. Once I distribute and/or sell them, however, it becomes a crime.

  • Lat

You can say that as much as you want, but it isn’t true. Take a look at the copyright law and tell me the section that includes this supposed “right.” I’ll quote the sections that say you can’t:

Note the phrase “exclusive rights.” That means the copyright holder is the only person to have this right. Note also that the law says “to reproduce.” The very act of making copies without permission is a violation.

As far as making archive copies, the law says:

(You can check the rest.) Note this says “a library or archive” – not an individual. Note also it says “no more than one copy.”

Now use a little logic. Software licenses specifically grant you the right to make a copy of the software on your computer. Would they have to put in legal language to grant you that right if you already had it?

Now, care to quote the law to back up your claim?

Oh, you mean MUSIC CDs. I thought we were talking about SOFTWARE CDs.
(Are you buying this? No?) :o

(My understanding) Software in the US carries the automatic right to make an archival only backup copy.

Does the same not apply to music, DVDs, etc?

SIIA (Software & Information Industry Association) website, page on Copyright:

(bolding mine)

I remember the whole “archival purposes” legality of CD copying seems to come up a lot.

Just a thought, but perhaps these are CDs for which the copyright has run out and not been extended?

OK, a bit more trolling through your Govts. copyright law and it’s fairly obvious that RealityChuck is right – no backup of music (or video).

Slightly dopey question though… here I sit in front of my computer with a digital recording of… let’s see, the Pogues. I pop it in the CD drive and my windows media player reads it and puts music out the speakers… how exactly is this not software?

Ditto DVDs on the computer… how is the DVD not software, but the cut scenes and soundtrack from my game are?

Not disputing what the US law says… but it’s a bit inconsistent (IMO).

Is it possible that the CD store is selling CDs that came from a library, and the source CDs no longer exist?

Now here is where it gets hazy for me:

I buy a CD, and transfer the songs to my computer as MP3s. I copy the MP3s to my portable MP3 player, so I can listen while jogging. The original CD gets destroyed, so I burn the MP3s to a CDR. At what point am I breaking the law?

Also, can I make a compilation CD? How about a compilation cassette?

If the RIAA had their way, you’d be breaking the law every time you hum the song. (And don’t think I’m kidding.) What you think is morally acceptable doesn’t even come close the what they require to fill their financial desires.

Guys? Please remember the big point, it’s illegal to sell copies of copyright materials without the copyright holder’s permission. It could very well be that the store has some sort of special agreement with the copyright holder that allows such sales.

-lv

This is just the way I heard it but while it never says people have the right to make a back up copy, it never defines that archives can not be personal archives. At least thats what I heard the loophole was. I’m probably wrong though.