Harry Potter

[mfgriggs]

The "JK Rowlings is stupid" thread was too long for me to read through so what I have to say may have already been mentioned. But I will take a chance and say someting about the Harry Potter series of audio books.

I found the entire series online for about $300 which I thought was a bit high, so I went to my county library and checked out ALL the audio CDs free of charge.

The first one "Sorcerers stone" was 7 cds, however "order of the phoenix" was 23 cds. I was able to rip these as mp3 and wma files and listen to them on my PocketPC and Palm T5.

I really like Jim Dale.

[juni]

And here that is perfectly legal too. You can make copies for your own use of cds you find in the library. I think it even is legal to give copies to your friends (although not to spread them online, of course). :)

[CoreyJF]

Actually this would be a copyright violation and is illegal. Eve if you were copying it for a classroom, even under fair use you can not copy the whole book. You could copy a excerpt for classroom discussion, but to make a whole and complete copy would not be legal.

[CoreyJF]

And here that is perfectly legal too. You can make copies for your own use of cds you find in the library. I think it even is legal to give copies to your friends (although not to spread them online, of course). :)

I have to admit, I don't know anything about Scandinavian copywrite law. In the USA that would be illegal.

[Sven Johannsen]

We've actually had some interesting discussions on this sort of thing and the various legal and moral variations in various parts of the world. It was very enlightening. A lot of it was based on 'Free"/Open WiFi access but the concepts of what is available for use is vastly different in the Scandinavian countries. In countries where it is perfectly legitimate to cross another's property, provided you do no harm, that concept is translated to the digital space, much differently than here where it perfectly legitimate to shoot someone standing on your property. (within reason ;) and subject to a few restrictions)

[juni]

According to our new law this is perfectly legal. You may also copy your own cds and share with your friends. However, (and this is stupid), you may not break copyprotection on any cd or dvd you own even if you are making a copy for yourself. So, I'm not buying copyprotected cds since I want to be able to listen to them on my mobile devices.

[rocky_raher]

... much differently than here where it perfectly legitimate to shoot someone standing on your property. (within reason ;) and subject to a few restrictions)
In the Benevolent People's Republic of Massachusetts, you may not shoot someone who breaks into your house and attacks you with a knife, _unless_ you are cornered. You have an "obligation to flee." So, if a knife-wielding maniac kicks in your front door, you have a legal obligation to run out the back door, and may not shoot him in self-defense.

My apologies for running off on a tangent.

[PetiteFlower]

In Texas, on the other hand, it's legal to shoot trespassers whether they are threatening you or not!