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From: tdn@spice.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA (Thomas Newton)
Newsgroups: net.audio
Subject: Re: Digital Audio Cassettes...
Message-ID: <458@spice.cs.cmu.edu.ARPA>
Date: Wed, 2-Oct-85 15:27:11 EDT
Article-I.D.: spice.458
Posted: Wed Oct  2 15:27:11 1985
Date-Received: Sun, 6-Oct-85 05:15:12 EDT
Organization: Carnegie-Mellon University, CS/RI
Lines: 28

> I would like to know why anyone would want to do direct, digital
> copying of CDs to tape.

Assuming that digital cassettes will be the same size as standard audio
cassettes, Walkman-style digital tape players can probably be made much
smaller than Walkman-style CD players.  If one has both a CD player for
home use and a Walkman-style digital tape player for portable use, there
is an obvious cost advantage to [Buying CD; buying blank tape; recording
CD onto blank tape] versus [Buying CD; buying same album again on tape].
Furthermore, it is perfectly legal to save money via this route -- while
the record companies may want you to buy the same album twice, they have
no right to force you to do so.

> Seems to me that any such activity would be blatant violation of the
> copyright laws.  If that is what you're after, say so plainly.  Say
> PIRACY, not "direct digital copying".
> 
> If you don't think it's piracy, let's hear why not.

If you own the CD, and make a copy for yourself, it's not a violation of
the copyright laws.  If you don't own the CD, or if you give away/sell the
resulting tape without also giving away/selling the CD and all your other
copies of the album, it is a violation of the copyright laws.

Clearly, any system that allows copying will allow piracy.  But any system
that doesn't allow copying will prevent LEGAL copying as well.

                                        -- Thomas Newton


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