You knew it was coming to this: the RIAA has declared in a court filing that it considers ripping a CD to be an illegal act, regardless of the reason for doing so. Therefore, if you rip a CD to put it on your MP3 player or just to have a backup copy in case the CD fails (What?! Never!), you have committed a crime and the RIAA can track you down and sue your music-thieving butt. Of course, in another, earlier court action – this one at the Supreme Court – the RIAA’s lawyers asserted exactly the opposite point of view. Gory details are here.
