In a file-sharing case against Jeffrey Howell of Arizona, Recording Industry Association of America attorney Ira Schwartz argues the MP3s Howell made on his computer from legally bought CDs are “unauthorized copies” of copyrighted recordings. “I couldn't believe it when I read that,” NY attorney Ray Beckerman told the Washington Post, “…the industry has been going around saying that even a personal copy on your computer is a violation.” In a case against Jammie Thomas in October, a Sony-BMG lawyer said transferring a song to a computer for personal use is “a nice way of saying ‘steals just one copy.’”

Editor: This appears to be a story that has grown across the net. However the statement appears to have been over stated. In fact it appears that there was one piece of information that was erroneously left off of the previous report: shared folders. If a copy was made to a shared folder was when RIAA considers it to be truly unauthorized.