# RIAA = Rabies Infected Asshole Attorneys **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 31, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773 "2007-12-31T05:24:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773/1 "2007-12-31T05:24:38Z")
You buy a CD at the local record store, go home, rip it via iTunes so that you can listen to it on your iPod, and [the RIAA will sue your ass for copyright violations.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html) > [@](#): > > Now, in an unusual case in which an Arizona recipient of an RIAA letter has fought back in court rather than write a check to avoid hefty legal fees, the industry is taking its argument against music sharing one step further: In legal documents in its federal case against Jeffrey Howell, a Scottsdale, Ariz., man who kept a collection of about 2,000 music recordings on his personal computer, the industry maintains that it is illegal for someone who has _legally_ purchased a CD to transfer that music into his computer. WTF? Even if you think that people who do file sharing are wrong, you should be bothered by this. What the hell happened to “fair use”? Wanna bet that they’ll go after DVRs if they win this one? Wonder how many people are going to hear about this and say, “Screw it, if I’m going to get sued no matter what I do, I’m just going to steal everything.”? ---
**Author:** ![dgrdfd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@dgrdfd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dgrdfd)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773/2 "2007-12-31T05:35:59Z")
> **[Time to tell the music industry to](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449617)** > > fuck off? Now they’re saying that if I buy a CD, put it on my mac, then on my iPod, I’m stealing. I buy CDs just to put them on my iPod. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773/3 "2007-12-31T05:46:41Z")
Shit. I looked, and didn’t see that. I must need to get my eyes checked. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773/4 "2007-12-31T05:49:39Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] You buy a CD at the local record store, go home, rip it via iTunes so that you can listen to it on your iPod, and [the RIAA will sue your ass for copyright violations.](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/28/AR2007122800693.html)WTF? Even if you think that people who do file sharing are wrong, you should be bothered by this. What the hell happened to “fair use”? Wanna bet that they’ll go after DVRs if they win this one? Wonder how many people are going to hear about this and say, “Screw it, if I’m going to get sued no matter what I do, I’m just going to steal everything.”? [/QUOTE] RIAA is being belligerently stupid. Assuming you only rip songs to your computer so only you can listen to them and never share them on-line, how exactly do they expect enforce this? Are they going to start randomly grabbing iPod listeners off the street and giving them the third-degree to find out if songs on their MP3 player were (gasp!) originally from a CD? Are they going to start paying people to snitch on friends and family who have ripped their CD collection to their computer? Their whole argument deserves to get laughed out of court. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2007, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riaa-rabies-infected-asshole-attorneys/431773/5 "2007-12-31T15:32:28Z")
[QUOTE=dgrdfd] > **[Time to tell the music industry to](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449617)** > > fuck off? Now they’re saying that if I buy a CD, put it on my mac, then on my iPod, I’m stealing. I buy CDs just to put them on my iPod. Peace, mangeorge [/QUOTE] Duplicate thread closed.