Burning CD's

[Rogue 9]

Well, if you read the fine print at the front of the book, it usually says that copying any portion without permission to distribute is a violation of copyright law, usually with a small list of exceptions, such as small excerpts for reviews and such. But its technically illegal to photocopy copyrighted works if the given circumstances are not met. (The provisions given are usually in there as written permission to avoid having every book reviewer in the country hassle the author for written permission to excerpt.)

The catch with that is that you usually either own the book in question or its part of a library's collection (since bookstores don't let you photocopy their stock, for obvious reasons). Either way its already paid for. As long as the copies never go to anyone else, you're okay with the law.

But a burned copy of a CD that you didn't buy is stolen material.

 

[God's Child]

I don't think it is a sin

 

[Free]

It's scary that there is disagreement among Christians on an issue that involves breaking the law. It is a sin.

 

[Bryan]

But Free, in Canada it is NOT breaking the law. The courts have specifically stated that because we pay licensing fees on tapes, CDs, hard drives, and MP3 players, we are paying in advance for the right to download all we want to.

Not illegal, not a sin, not stealing.

It's DEFINITELY not stealing. The original product is still where it was, there are no losses. It's no different than listening to the radio. Radio stations pay a licensing fee, consumers pay a licensing fee. It's the same thing.

 

[Jack Lewis]

The problem is complex because the record industry refuses to allow people to buy songs individually, and forces them to purchase a CD full of crap just so they can listen to one or two good songs.

My solution, since my tastes range in more nostalgic music, is to find the stuff I like at garage sales on cassette or LP, then having legally obtained a copy of the music, I can download the MP3 without the artist being deprived of an income.

 

[JM]

Maybe this thread should be closed?

But no one has tried to answer my question, is photocopy a sin? We're talking about the exact same thing...one is legal in the US and other isn't. Both are copying material without paying...

 

[Bryan]

Jack, the artist doesn't get a cent from you buying a used LP.

Sco, photocopying an article out of a magazine is not illegal. While photocopying a whole book IS a little murky, the only way you'd get in legal hot water is if you sold those copies. That's where copyright infringement DOES become a black and white crime: when you make money off of it, and the artist doesn't.

As far as sin goes, were the scribes who hand copied the scriptures of old sinners? Saving some information, without taking the original source, IMO, doesn't even approach a sinful act.

 

[JM]

Sco, photocopying an article out of a magazine is not illegal. While photocopying a whole book IS a little murky, the only way you'd get in legal hot water is if you sold those copies. That's where copyright infringement DOES become a black and white crime: when you make money off of it, and the artist doesn't.

So in a way, if I copy only one song....and not the whole thing.... :D

 

[Nikki]

I used to have Kazaa and download off it and burn cd's. We got rid of Kazaa though. I don't want to be sued!

As for burning cd's and whether or not it's a sin depends on WHAT you are burning them for. If you are making money off them, then yes....I personally consider it a sin. I burn a lot of pictures from my digital camera onto cd's. They are MY pictures and MY cd's, so I'm doing nothing out of the ordinary or sinful.

So, I guess I just consider it a sinful act if you are making money off it.

 

[Rogue 9]

That's the thing though. If you're burning your pictures from your camera onto CDs there can't be anything sinful about it, because you're not stealing anything. However, you don't have to make money for something to be theft. If you burn copies of a music CD and give them away to all your friends, you haven't made a cent. But you did steal the music, or more accurately you fenced it for your friends. The CD doesn't matter. Its a blank slate. What goes on it and what is done with it is the issue, not the CD itself.

 

[JM]

I'm just glad Canada finally got something right for a change and it's legal to burn here because we pay for it when we purchase blank discs. :D

 

[Bryan]

That's not the only thing Canada's done right Sco, ephedrine's still legal.

 

[Vic C.]

Bryan, I hope that was a sarcastic statement. :-?

 

[Bryan]

Not at all. The ephedra witch hunt in the US is ridiculous.

It is perfectly safe, and it's the only fat burner that actually works.

 

[Heidi Mighty Mo]

I thought the issue was more if it was ok to download and burn "shared" songs (from Kazaa, and such) you haven't paid for.

I use to do this but I started feeling convicted and started buying the cds. I felt I was stealing the songs from the artists.

Now, once I have bought the cd, I will often make an extra copy of the ones I plan to keep in my dance room cd player for my truck so I don't have to keep taking it out and transporting it back and forth. Unless I am mistaken, I don't think there is a law against this and it is so much more convenient.

 

[Jack Lewis]

Jack, the artist doesn't get a cent from you buying a used LP.

Wrong, the artist has already been paid when you buy a used LP. That represents a copy of the song (or songs) that the proper people have already been payed for. Once it legally becomes your possession, downloading a copy simply makes it easier for you to listen to. The same as when people would buy an LP, record it on cassette, then listen to the cassette. Lots of music industry people in the 70's and 80's did that, and there was nothing at all wrong with it. The idea is that you buy a copy of the song (or album) then listen to it. I have a stack of LP's gathering dust because I no longer have a turntable, but I have been able to download MP3's of quite a number of the songs on it. The artists, the producers, etc. got paid and I get to enjoy the music.

As far as sin goes, were the scribes who hand copied the scriptures of old sinners? Saving some information, without taking the original source, IMO, doesn't even approach a sinful act.

Back then any written material was considered public domain. They had no copyright laws. We today look upon a person's intellectual work as property, and taking it without paying for it (except with permission) is illegal. I asked quite a few Christian musicians several years back about it and the consistent reply, in regards to people copying their music was, "If you're going to make a copy for a lost friend as a witnessing tool, go ahead. But if you're copying it so you don't have to pay for it, don't, otherwise how will we make a living."

 

[JM]

That's not the only thing Canada's done right Sco, ephedrine's still legal.

Sorry, Bryan but ephedrine/ephedra were banned in Canada 2 years ago. It's illegal in Canada but I know many places that still sell it, mostly behind the counter. I have to say, Canada was right, way before the U.S. on this one. We didn't have to see more then a handful of deaths before it was pulled.

 

[Bryan]

the artist has already been paid when you buy a used LP. That represents a copy of the song (or songs) that the proper people have already been payed for.

Sure, and the person who bought the CD and made an MP3 that I downloaded paid his license then too. The point is, by buying a used tape, you aren't doing anything more to support the artist than I am by downloading.

 

[Bryan]

That's not the only thing Canada's done right Sco, ephedrine's still legal.

Sorry, Bryan but ephedrine/ephedra were banned in Canada 2 years ago. It's illegal in Canada but I know many places that still sell it, mostly behind the counter. I have to say, Canada was right, way before the U.S. on this one. We didn't have to see more then a handful of deaths before it was pulled.

All health Canada banned was supplements that combine ephedrine with caffiene, ones using herbal ephedra, ones that don't carry a Canadian DIN number, and ones using more than 8mg of ephedrine per tablet. Pure, pharmaceutical grade ephedrine tablets are perfectly legal, and they aren't hidden behind the counter. I'd post some web sites to show you, but I don't know if that would violate the no advertising policy.

 

[Rogue 9]

the artist has already been paid when you buy a used LP. That represents a copy of the song (or songs) that the proper people have already been payed for.

Sure, and the person who bought the CD and made an MP3 that I downloaded paid his license then too. The point is, by buying a used tape, you aren't doing anything more to support the artist than I am by downloading.

Except that by downloading you're distributing the work and propogating it. Buying a used LP (or an original CD for that matter) from someone else who bought it means that you now have it while the person you purchased it from does not. But with downloading a copy of something you never bought, you are multiplying the number of copies out there without paying the appropriate people. When you download, you now have a copy and the person you downloaded from has a copy. Two copies where there once was one, and only one is paid for. Do you see the difference now? Its like counterfeiting money, in a sense. Each copy not accounted for decreases the value of the originals, and screws the artist beyond what the cost of buying the CD would be.