In Alaska, it's illegal to serve liquor to a moose. Why on earth there should be a law like that seems beyond comprehension; it simply defies common sense. But as it happens, there are a lot of stupid laws on the books when it comes to the serving of alcoholic beverages. And as it turns out, the RIAA is doing everything it can to transfer that kind of silliness to copyright law. Their latest tack: if you purchase a recording and transfer the content to your computer, you're a thief. You probably thought this was all settled back when cassette recorders and videotape recorders came blasting into the market, but you'd be wrong.
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.
It seems clear that the RIAA monolith has not only outlived its usefulness, but is now actively engaged in tactics that are essentially guaranteed to ruin them. Note to RIAA: adapt, or die.
