Ford and GM in Trouble New Car Features Let You Rip CD's to Cars HD

[csv8]

"COPYING a CD used to mean sitting at our computers but now this feature is found in cars allowing you to rip whlie you tear around the streets.

But, it turns out that the American Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies isn’t keen on this feature found in several Ford and General Motors cars that lets you rip CDs onto the car’s hard drive.

While it might be a convenient feature of the car, the AARC is concerned that people could be ripping CDs they don’t actually own, so is taking out a lawsuit against the maunfacturers.

The “defendants designed these devices for the express purpose of copying music CDs and other digital recordings to a hard drive on the devices, and they market these devices emphasising that copying function,” the AARC said.

The lawsuit itself claims that Ford and GM are in breach of an act from 1992 that prevents the sale of audio recording devices with the primary function to copy.

For the owners who are legitimately own the CDs using the jukebox function is intended to make owning and playing media much easier than having to keep your whole music collection in the car. The wording in Ford’s owner’s manual does, however, directly imply copying CDs to the car’s internal hard drive, which the law says is a no-no.

“Your mobile media navigation system has a Jukebox which allows you to save desired tracks or CDs to the hard drive for later access,” the manual says.

Should this function be seen as a piracy issue, then it would open up a much larger debate as to why your computer manufacturer hasn’t been sued also. Because the computer disc drive has other needs to copy data from CDs, unlike the car’s infotainment systems, it seems to avoid the AARC’s attention.

One of the models with this feature, the Chevrolet Volt is on sale (badged as a Holden) in Australia, so it will be interesting to see if a similar case pops up on our shores.Ford GM in trouble,,"'
http://www.news.com.au/technology/de...-1227009075922

[goldxrdamo]

So do nissan and probably most other cars these days

[commonrails]

The AARC are scraping the bottom of the barrel with a 22 year old law regarding technology IMO

[Matty4]

My Jeep already has this feature built into the head unit. They are also sold and manufactured in the US, smells like a bit of desperation to me.

[falcongt4me]

yet piratebay lives on! go figure...maybe car manufacturers just need to put a disclaimer in their manuals stating that before copying you must legally own the item to be copied. They can't sue if you have legitimately bought the CD in the first place and then copy it onto your hard drive.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by commonrails

The AARC are scraping the bottom of the barrel with a 22 year old law regarding technology IMO

Are you seriously suggesting than any law on technology needs to be re done every 5 or 10 years? Think about the monster you would create..

Or are you a lawyer licking your lips?

[Franco Cozzo]

22 year old technology is the equivalent to when the woolly mammoth was roaming the globe.

Of course the law needs to be updated every 5 years.

[tut0r]

This makes me laugh, I don't actually download music anymore I stream it from spotify, $10 a month but its just easier. It is a desperate attempt to get some money, its like sueing a car manufacture for making their cars go to fast that it can result in death....Something utterly stupid and I hope it gets thrown out.

[Nikked]

If you put the CD you buy into your car, I cant see a problem, but I can see where they are coming from I regards to borrowing a CD and recording it...


BTW, I am a bit "pro artist rights", as piracy doesn't help the entire industry....

[eaglem]

Originally Posted by Nikked

If you put the CD you buy into your car, I cant see a problem, but I can see where they are coming from I regards to borrowing a CD and recording it...


BTW, I am a bit "pro artist rights", as piracy doesn't help the entire industry....

But even if you borrow it someone has already paid the copyright on it the question then is how many times must copyright be paid on the same CD?

[BHDOGS]

Simple download illegaly burn to the disc you stole at reject shop put onto your car 10 YEARS JAIL.

[Wretched]

AARC are nothing more than parasites.
They are "..a non-profit US royalty collective, assembled by the US music industry in conjunction with the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, that protects the rights of featured artists and recording companies(sound recording copyright owners) both domestically and abroad in the areas of hometaping/private copy royalties and rental royalties"

Nothing really for Ford and GM to worry about. I mean just refer to the RIAA vs Diamond Multimedia case from 1999.

Adding to the fact the US Copyright ACT states "...no action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings."

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap10.html

[simon varley]

Originally Posted by falcongt4me

They can't sue if you have legitimately bought the CD in the first place and then copy it onto your hard drive.

actually - I think they can. Or at least they think they can. The recording industry tend to believe that you have to pay for each type of media you play the recording on. That is why broadcast radio stations have stopped streaming their shows in many countries - the music industry want them to pay two sets of royalties even though the show is identical on each media format.

[Giant Cranium]

i had a clarion head deck in my ute 10 years ago that could do this with. how far can the push the point

[tut0r]

Maybe if cds and such weren't so expensive people would be more inclined to buy them but $20 per cd usually is insane still. This is why I like the new age of streaming, I get high quality songs for $10 a month, really great when you I have an 80/90s playlist of over 140 songs and about 5 different playlists with over 30 songs each its paid itself 100 times over.

[dragons90]

What a crock, why don't they go after windows and apple (wmp and iTunes) who have been allowing you to rip cd's and put them on to mp3 players for years.
My understanding is, it is perfectly legal to rip and back up cd's, dvd's and blueray's what is illegal is bypassing copy protection which is rare on cd's.

[CyberWasp]

The Police could do Random Hard Drive Checks on the side of the road.
"You are under arrest for having Britney Spears on your Hard Drive Unit"
"But officer it is Legit, I have the original CD"
"We know, but you are just under arrest because you have Britney Spears on your unit"

[Kryton]

Originally Posted by csv8

The lawsuit itself claims that Ford and GM are in breach of an act from 1992 that prevents the sale of audio recording devices with the primary function to copy.

And that right there is why it wont get through the courts.
A vehicles audio systems primary function is NOT to copy or record, it is to play music.
Copying is a "feature", but not its primary purpose.

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by eaglem

But even if you borrow it someone has already paid the copyright on it the question then is how many times must copyright be paid on the same CD?

You don't buy the copyright in the CD. Ever. You buy the content for private and domestic use. Copyright remains with the content creator.

Originally Posted by tut0r

Maybe if cds and such weren't so expensive people would be more inclined to buy them but $20 per cd usually is insane still. This is why I like the new age of streaming, I get high quality songs for $10 a month, really great when you I have an 80/90s playlist of over 140 songs and about 5 different playlists with over 30 songs each its paid itself 100 times over.

Expensive? Bloody hell ... $20 is what ... 1 hour wage? Or 2 hours if you're on minimum wage?

Streaming is good, and I'd do it provided that the money goes to the artist.

Originally Posted by dragons90

What a crock, why don't they go after windows and apple (wmp and iTunes) who have been allowing you to rip cd's and put them on to mp3 players for years.
My understanding is, it is perfectly legal to rip and back up cd's, dvd's and blueray's what is illegal is bypassing copy protection which is rare on cd's.

It is legal to back up CDs provided only that the copy you have is a legitimate copy. At present, it is not legal to rip DVDs and Bluray, but it is legal to copy a VHS into digital form.

Originally Posted by Kryton

And that right there is why it wont get through the courts.
A vehicles audio systems primary function is NOT to copy or record, it is to play music.
Copying is a "feature", but not its primary purpose.

That's the argument before the court. This isn't just any ordinary car audio system. Based on that article, it would appear that their argument is that the Ford and GM have marketed the system as being designed specifically to copy music onto the car's memory.

I don't know US copyright law very well, but if there is indeed an act that prohibits the sale of goods whose primary function is to copy, then there is an arguable case.

[commonrails]

Originally Posted by NX74205

I don't know US copyright law very well, but if there is indeed an act that prohibits the sale of goods whose primary function is to copy, then there is an arguable case.

New DVD drive for your pc to rip music $20

New Ford to rip music only to car's hard drive $20k+

AARC having the audacity to sue Ford & GM over a 22yo law, Priceless

I hope the leaches get thrown out, nobody in their right mind would buy a car with the primary function of it being able to copy a song.

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by tut0r

Maybe if cds and such weren't so expensive people would be more inclined to buy them but $20 per cd usually is insane still. This is why I like the new age of streaming, I get high quality songs for $10 a month, really great when you I have an 80/90s playlist of over 140 songs and about 5 different playlists with over 30 songs each its paid itself 100 times over.

When I started my first job in 1982, my commencing wage was just until $7k pa. An LP was $5.95.

CDs cheap as chips now.

Tutor, do you watch live music?

If not, you make no contribution to the sustainability of the music you listen to.

[SumoDog68]

My Navara has this feature - haven't used it in once in two years , generally it is easier to access your music from smart phone and phone is getting charged at the same time.

[eaglem]

An interesting point here is the biggest movie & music company of them all, Sony, produces DVD Burners, blank disks both in standard and Blu-ray form made expressly for copying purposes and then complains bitterly when people use their products in a way they were designed to be used.

It has been pointed out before that if music & movies were sold for a reasonable price Piracy wouldn't exist but obviously Highway Robbery creates Piracy. Australia pays more for music, movies and software than most other countries around the world and the question has to be asked why is this allowed to happen.

[Nikked]

Originally Posted by eaglem

An interesting point here is the biggest movie & music company of them all, Sony, produces DVD Burners, blank disks both in standard and Blu-ray form made expressly for copying purposes and then complains bitterly when people use their products in a way they were designed to be used.

It has been pointed out before that if music & movies were sold for a reasonable price Piracy wouldn't exist but obviously Highway Robbery creates Piracy. Australia pays more for music, movies and software than most other countries around the world and the question has to be asked why is this allowed to happen.

For starters, storage media is just that, storage media. They are not sold with the intent purpose of coping entire CD's or movies.


Expensive? Highway Robbery? $40 for a whole season on Blu-Ray is expensive? $10-20 for the average CD....<$2 for an single i-tunes download?


And Australia tends to pay more for a lot of things then other countries...

...its called economy.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by nuthin' fancy

When I started my first job in 1982, my commencing wage was just until $7k pa. An LP was $5.95.

CDs cheap as chips now.

Tutor, do you watch live music?

If not, you make no contribution to the sustainability of the music you listen to.

With spootify, smartphones and mobile internet, who even needs CD's hard drives or USB in cars anymore. The amount of time and hassle in loading up the pirated music or loading/ripping the legit cd's just isnt worth it anymore

[Nova 8]

If someone buys a CD they buy the information on said CD. No reason they can't copy that information to their car, phone, computer etc as long as they aren't redistributing it to other consumers, you don't have to buy it in every possible format.

My car can copy CDs but I've never used the function cause of Bluetooth and piratebay, I don't even own a music CD nowadays. Copyright laws are so far behind its pathetic.

[Adamz Ghia]

Originally Posted by Nikked

For starters, storage media is just that, storage media. They are not sold with the intent purpose of coping entire CD's or movies.


Expensive? Highway Robbery? $40 for a whole season on Blu-Ray is expensive? $10-20 for the average CD....<$2 for an single i-tunes download?


And Australia tends to pay more for a lot of things then other countries...

...its called economy.

Why should we pay more for a digital download...? No more expensive to do digital business here than the States.

[eaglem]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

Why should we pay more for a digital download...? No more expensive to do digital business here than the States.

It's called Price Gouging and has nothing to do with the economy and that's why Sony regionises all their DVD's.

[Franco Cozzo]

What ***** me is they complain about piracy but if you've ever bought any music from iTunes store before, on the USA store songs are 99 cents each and the Australian store they're $1.95 each.

Or on Steam for PC games, digital downloads, USA store new releases are $60 USD, here they're $90-$115.

Or companies like Foxtel buying up the rights to lots of shows for Australia, then not releasing them until long after they've aired in the USA or not at all. I've got Foxtel and I still download TV shows from the USA because I can get them earlier than what they come out on Foxtel and without millions of ads through them.

With the PS3 you can import games because they're not region coded so you can source them from Play-Asia for cheap for new legit copies but developers started getting smart and started region coding multiplayer, so if you imported a game you couldn't play it with your friends, Konami was doing this.

Or Foxtel complaining that many people are using Netflix/Hulu Plus now for pay tv by tricking the servers into thinking they are based in the USA to get the service as they don't offer it in Australia yet because of rights issues.

Or even PC software, Adobe was charging Australian customers up the *** on the Australian online store then complaining when they were buying it from the USA online store much cheaper.

[Bushbasher]

It's called the Australia Tax and we get charged it "because they can" and the authorities that should be putting a stop to it are toothless and don't or won't bring the multi nationals to task about it.