If I copy movies and/or music and give them away how could this be illegal since I have purchased the item(s) (Music and the disk) and have legal ownership of the disk and it's contents and I am not selling them?
A similiar example would be if I bought a ford mustang and decided to reproduce a mustang exactly by whatever means I have at my disposal and give them away, this is not illegal, in fact it happens daily to many products, So how is the music and movie companies able to make it illegal for the consumer (legal owner) to reproduce there product for his own consumption and use providing he is not profiting from them? Where is the theft?
2007-09-02 04:00:41 · 4 answers · asked by brian k 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
You need to learn a little more about copyright and patent/trademark law. Rolex spends lots of money every year prosecuting people who make "knock-offs" of their watches.
You own the disk, NOT the music, which is licensed to you for your personal use. Every copy you give away diminishes the chances that a person will buy her/his own copy.
If you made an exact replica of a Mustang and sold it, you would be prosecuted and found guilty of copyright infringement and trademark-stealing.
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing...." Pope
2007-09-02 04:27:08 · answer #1 · answered by thylawyer 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Because the owners have a copy write on their product and just because you purchase their product, does not give you access/approval of that copy write.
If you reproduced a Ford Mustang and were caught, even if you gave them away, yes, it is illegal and you could be charged for copywrite infringement if the copy write holder chose to prosecute you.
Not what you want to hear, but it is explicit in all recent DVD's and music, and most have video protection that won't even allow copying, but even if they don't the fees could be $250,000 per incident and up to 5 years in prison per incident.
2007-09-02 11:14:49 · answer #2 · answered by bottleblondemama 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It isn't the music and movie companies that made it illegal, it's the U.S. Congress. And what you're describing is certainly both illegal and unethical.
It is a violation of the copyright act to make unauthorized copies of a protected work. While you may have legal ownership of the discs and you have legal ownership of a single copy of the content, you do not have legal ownership of the right to make copies of the content.
That right is reserved to the artist who created the work, who certainly deserves to get paid for his or her creative effort. That artist has licensed the right to make copies to a company which has expended sums in marketing and distributing the product, and deserves to get compensated for its labors too.
When you make "free" copies you are damaging the ability of the artist and the company to sell their legal copies, and this has the effect of making it harder for artists to make a living... Congress has decided that these artists and those who support them are deserving of protection, and I'm glad they did.
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Note to bottleblonde: it would not be copyright infringement to reproduce the Mustang (cars aren't copyrighted), however, it would likely be a trademark violation.
2007-09-02 11:12:38 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
it isn't theft, it's copyright infringement... copyright gives its creator the right to control distribution of the material... by distributing the copies yourself, you are denying them control over the distribution, and violating that right... BTW, you do not have the right to reproduce Ford Mustangs and distribute them, this would violate Ford's trademark rights
2007-09-02 11:16:02 · answer #4 · answered by shroomigator 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋