Help me understand the "Fair Use Doctrine"

[Orrex]

I had a lengthy conversation yesterday with a friend who claims to have done a great deal of research on the matter, and at the conclusion of his research he states with confidence that it's just fine for him to make and distribute as many copies of a CD as he cares to, so long as he's not profiting from the copying or distribution.

I called bullshit, and referred to the warning at the start of every DVD that says something like "unauthorized reproduction is punishable by up to X months in jail or a fine of $250,000." To this, he said "that's Interpol. And you'll note that the record companies are the ones who are trying to define 'Fair Use' here in the US."

Help me out. I confess that my motives are only half-noble; I don't want him to get arrested or slapped with a multi-million dollar fine, because payday's still two weeks away.


Your thoughts?

[Midlodemocrat]

1. Oh, so the answers from the Lounge weren't good enough for you?

Way to go, Stalin.

[Orrex]

2. You are totally stalking me

Not that I blame you. After all, I am both inscrutable and irresistible. And phenomenally charismatic, no less.

[Midlodemocrat]

4. I can't help myself.

I might miss some Orrex goodness if I didn't stalk you. :rofl:

[zanne]

7. Get a room! nt

[MonkeyFunk]

3. He's just mistaken

Fair use allows someone to use portions of a copyrighted work for review, commentary, and the like. It doesn't allow them to just distribute the work free of charge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

[Orrex]

5. That was my view as well

And in fact I consulted Wiki on the subject this morning. I'll see him again in a few days, and maybe I'll rat him out to the Feds at that time.

Take that, Pirate-Friend!

[LiberalFighter]

9. You might notice that there are some programs on tv intended for school use.

They allow a teacher to make a copy whether on dvd or other media. BUT they also specify that at the end of a specified date it must be destroyed.

Also, in regards to other works that are copyrighted there are instances where one owns and has the copyright on material that the owner specifies that they are giving permission to include the work for distribution as long they are not charging for it. I think the key is that they are giving permission while what he would suggest doing is without permission of the owner.

[zanne]

6. I'm with your friend.

What I mean to say is that I happen to like his interpretation better; not that it's right.

[Orrex]

8. LOL!

I happened to mention to him that every justification I've ever heard for his definition of "freedom to distribute" amounts to "I think that I should be able to do it."

At this, he bristled, claiming that his opinion was based on law and not on some scheme to violate copyright.

[zanne]

10. I think that I should be able to do it.

Seriously. I used to copy tapes all the time and it was perfectly legal. I'm not saying that I think you're wrong about the law. I think the law is wrong.

[Orrex]

11. But do you think it's okay to distribute digital copies of copyrighted music?

If so, how many copies is too many? Or is there no limit?

[zanne]

12. I think that enough copies for personal use should be legal.

Three or under.

[Orrex]

13. Well then that's actually a very different view from my friend's

His opinion is that "it's fine as long I don't profit from it." Your view, that multiple personal copies are ok, is much more modest, and AFAIK permitted under the law (though I'm not sure what the magic number of copies might be).