Album Cover Art For iPod & Fair Use

[iHeartThe60s]

Does anyone know if looking for album/single cover art on the internet (Google, Amazon, etc.) for music on an iPod/iTunes constitute as “fair use” and, thus, not a violation of copyright law? I asked my confessor about this and he said that since I’ve bought a certain album(s) then I’m entitled to use a copy of the artwork on my iPod, but I thought I’d ask here to get a second opinion (especially since I haven’t found anything regarding this very topic).

Also, would printing out a regular paper-sized (8" x 8") copy of an album cover be covered under “fair use” as well if you already own the album, etc.? I have a collage of album covers on my wall and I’m wondering if I’ve broken any law(s). I know fair use mainly deals with photographs, but since record covers are, AKAIK, the property of the band and/or record label and since the artwork itself comes directly on/with the purchased CD case/LP cover/digital download/etc. do different rules apply, if any?

Thanks in advance for any comments!

 

[DexUK]

Provided you have a right to listen to the music - i.e. you purchased it in some form - then whether you download a copy of the album/cd cover art or you scan your own original, I don’t see a problem. Sounds like a form of ‘fair use’ to me.

Interestingly enough, in Britain, it is still technically illegal to format-shift music: if you buy a CD with music on and then rip it to an iPod you’re technically in breach of the law. However, it’s not a law that anyone in Britain enforces and, much like the often quoted medieval law of mandatory archery practice on Sundays, it’s a regulation that has fallen into disuse.

In the artwork case, there’d be nothing stopping you from taking a photograph of an album cover and making your own original artwork from it, so again I don’t see the problem, provided you have a legally owned original from which you could have worked.

Remember, this only applies to music you have purchased legitimately. Had you relied on artwork that was connected to music you did NOT have a right to (i.e. a download from some sort of file ‘sharing’ site - otherwise read as theft - or a copy from a friend), then you would have a moral problem.

 

[iHeartThe60s]

Interestingly enough, in Britain, it is still technically illegal to format-shift music: if you buy a CD with music on and then rip it to an iPod you’re technically in breach of the law. However, it’s not a law that anyone in Britain enforces and, much like the often quoted medieval law of mandatory archery practice on Sundays, it’s a regulation that has fallen into disuse.

This really surprised me, especially since iTunes has been in existence for several years now. Sure would be nice if this law was re-examined, wouldn’t it?