Are Mp3's Illegal?
03-24-02, 06:49 PM
#3
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Only if you get caught. 
Seriously, I think it's ok to turn your CDs into MP3s if you are the only one who is going to listen to them. Trading them is a no-no.
Seriously, I think it's ok to turn your CDs into MP3s if you are the only one who is going to listen to them. Trading them is a no-no.
03-24-02, 07:09 PM
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It's not complex at all, actually: MP3 is just an audio compression algorithm. It is used to compress raw audio data, therefore reducing the amount of storage space required. There is nothing illegal about it!
You might be thinking of the act of redistributing copyrighted commercial material, which is prohibited by international copyright laws (no matter how silly they may be.)
For example, if you download a copy of the latest Radiohead album without paying for it, you are in fact breaking those laws. Unless, of course, the owner of that album -- usually the record company -- grants you permission to do so.
However, the format used to compress the audio data has nothing to do with the legality of your actions. It doesn't matter whether the data is in raw form, or compressed using MP3, WMA, RA, APE, ZIP, RAR, ARC, ACE, ARJ, LZH, GZIP, BZIP, BZIP2 and so on...
Cheers.
You might be thinking of the act of redistributing copyrighted commercial material, which is prohibited by international copyright laws (no matter how silly they may be.)
For example, if you download a copy of the latest Radiohead album without paying for it, you are in fact breaking those laws. Unless, of course, the owner of that album -- usually the record company -- grants you permission to do so.
However, the format used to compress the audio data has nothing to do with the legality of your actions. It doesn't matter whether the data is in raw form, or compressed using MP3, WMA, RA, APE, ZIP, RAR, ARC, ACE, ARJ, LZH, GZIP, BZIP, BZIP2 and so on...
Cheers.
Last edited by Abstrakt; 03-24-02 at 07:25 PM.
03-24-02, 07:40 PM
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Originally posted by Abstrakt
It's not complex at all, actually: MP3 is just an audio compression algorithm. It is used to compress raw audio data, therefore reducing the amount of storage space required. There is nothing illegal about it!
You might be thinking of the act of redistributing copyrighted commercial material, which is prohibited by international copyright laws (no matter how silly they may be.)
For example, if you download a copy of the latest Radiohead album without paying for it, you are in fact breaking those laws. Unless, of course, the owner of that album -- usually the record company -- grants you permission to do so.
However, the format used to compress the audio data has nothing to do with the legality of your actions. It doesn't matter whether the data is in raw form, or compressed using MP3, WMA, RA, APE, ZIP, RAR, ARC, ACE, ARJ, LZH, GZIP, BZIP, BZIP2 and so on...
Cheers.
It's not complex at all, actually: MP3 is just an audio compression algorithm. It is used to compress raw audio data, therefore reducing the amount of storage space required. There is nothing illegal about it!
You might be thinking of the act of redistributing copyrighted commercial material, which is prohibited by international copyright laws (no matter how silly they may be.)
For example, if you download a copy of the latest Radiohead album without paying for it, you are in fact breaking those laws. Unless, of course, the owner of that album -- usually the record company -- grants you permission to do so.
However, the format used to compress the audio data has nothing to do with the legality of your actions. It doesn't matter whether the data is in raw form, or compressed using MP3, WMA, RA, APE, ZIP, RAR, ARC, ACE, ARJ, LZH, GZIP, BZIP, BZIP2 and so on...
Cheers.
03-24-02, 08:11 PM
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Or .avi
AVI = Audio Video Interleave. Besides, the audio track embedded in AVI's is usually either in WMA or MP3 format.
03-26-02, 09:43 PM
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Originally posted by madcougar
Seriously, I think it's ok to turn your CDs into MP3s if you are the only one who is going to listen to them.
Seriously, I think it's ok to turn your CDs into MP3s if you are the only one who is going to listen to them.
03-26-02, 09:50 PM
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Originally posted by tor_greg
Actually the mp3 format IS patented and you're technically required to pay royalties to them.
Actually the mp3 format IS patented and you're technically required to pay royalties to them.
03-27-02, 12:28 AM
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Actually the mp3 format IS patented and you're technically required to pay royalties to them.
Developers are only required to pay licensing fees if their software is going to incorporate a specific, commercial codec. For example, if they wish to use the Fraunhoffer codec -- generally considered the best MP3 algorithm -- they have to pay licensing fees to Fraunhoffer & Thomson Multimedia. To see their (outrageous) rates go here: http://mp3licensing.com
But there are plenty of other MP3 codecs out there; some of them are even free. So developers can use them in their MP3 decoder and/or encoder without having to pay any licensing fees.
For more information about the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) and their standards, please visit the official web site. This is the same group responsible for the MPEG-2 format used in DVDs and Digital TV, by the way.
It was founded by Leonardo Chiariglione of Telecom Italia Lab, and is based in Torino, Italy.Cheers.
Last edited by Abstrakt; 03-27-02 at 02:07 AM.
