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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Richard Marchetti wrote:
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Hey Y’all:
I have some scenarios for you...
I just bought a VHS tape on eBay of “Neo-Tokyo” (a compilation of 3 animated
shorts). Now it looks as if the seller is MIA and me with no tape. Do I own
it already, or not until I specifically take possession of it? What if a
friend decided to duplicate an existing copy for me, would it be a legal copy
seeing as how I have already paid for the same tape but not received it?
What is the fairness of the law in this case?
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The first important question is whether or not the VHS tape you bid for on eBay
was a legal copy of that work. If it wasn’t, it doesn’t matter how much you
paid for it, or even if you received it. You don’t legally own a copy of that
work. Period.
The second question is whether or not there was even a real VHS tape to bid for.
Maybe the guy posted the auction as a something-for-nothing scam, merely stating
that he had a copy of the tape to sell, when in fact he did not. Similar to the
first situation, there still wasn’t a legally authorized copy of the VHS tape
involved, so you own nothing.
The third question is, assuming he does own a legal copy of the VHS tape,
whether or not it was legally obtained. If it’s stolen merchandise, it doesn’t
matter how much you paid for it. You’re still required to return it, since the
legal owner never got paid anything for it. So, even if you’d received the
tape, it wouldn’t do you any good.
If, in the end, it was a legally obtained/legally produced copy that was up for
auction, and the guy did indeed have it in hand, you are the legal owner of
it...but until you have possession of the actual tape, you can’t prove that you
have the legal right to produce archival copies for personal enjoyment. Until
you can, the legal system would consider you to be breaking the law.
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Another scenario is one where I already own a CD copy of a piece of music.
Instead of ripping the disk to MP3 myself, I download it off the internet.
Do I have the legal right to an MP3 copy off the internet, or must I have
ripped the track myself? A CD is already digital, so the transfer to MP3 is
fairly painless -- but what if I want to rip vinyl to MP3? Is there a
difference in terms of my rights to a backup copy once I cross the “digital”
barrier? In the event that you think I have the right to a backup copy
whatever the source, is there a difference if I were to download an MP3 (a
digital copy) of something I only own as vinyl (an analog copy)? Again, what
is the fairness of the law in this case?
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Legally, you may own and use a copy of any specific musical work that you own,
as long as noone is using the original copy at the same time (you can even do
this with a lot of software, so you don’t have to buy seperate copies/licenses
for your laptop). If you own it on CD, you can have an MP3 version of that same
track, even if you didn’t produce it. People do it with GBA carts that have
been ported to PC all the time (the equipment used to port GBA carts to PC is
disturbingly expensive, considering it’s basically not much more than a cable
with GBA and USB connectors at both ends). Now, as has been pointed out, if you
have an MP3 copy of a song that’s not the same recording that you have on your
CD, you’re breaking the law. Technically, this could be taken so far as to say
that if you have a cassette copy of an album, and you pull down an MP3 that was
ripped from a CD copy, you aren’t legally allowed to own that MP3, since the CD
version is arguably superior, and most likely cost more to purchase. Same deal
for a digitally remastered copy of a song where you own an album with the
original unmodified version.
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | Possession
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| Hey Y'all: I have some scenarios for you... I just bought a VHS tape on eBay of "Neo-Tokyo" (a compilation of 3 animated shorts). Now it looks as if the seller is MIA and me with no tape. Do I own it already, or not until I specifically take (...) (21 years ago, 20-Jun-03, to lugnet.off-topic.debate, FTX)
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