Need help with legality of MP3 codecs and CD ripping

[arnab_das]

wow this is really complicated isnt it? and i thought it was as simple as inserting the cd in the tray and clicking "Rip".

to be honest, i am actually thinking of buying windows 7 because of these legal issues. i have quite a lot of CDs and the last thing i want is to do something which will render my collection "illegal". seems better to buy a copy of windows and rip everything via itunes/wmp, i get to keep my CDs and mp3s, all patents abided by, all dues paid. and i really dont want to have the clutter of having 2 OSes once i pay for a particular OS, so ubuntu would have to go, not something which i want to do. but i might be forced to.

but seriously, is there a way out? maybe if i could pay for just the mp3 codec itself and continue using ubuntu. any way of doing something like that?

thanks for all the replies guys. if i do indeed move to windows after so many years, this community is something i will definitely miss.

[Swagman]

Yes you can buy the "Fluendo Codec pack" from Canonicals online store

http://shop.canonical.com/product_in...roducts_id=244

[Zero2Nine]

Rip to ogg, no problem

Exactly! And if one cares about quality rip to FLAC.

[KiwiNZ]

Correct me if I'm wrong. None of the CD rippers of Ubuntu allow one to rip audio CDs to mp3. Also, I believe using mp3 codecs in Ubuntu has certain restrictions. So basically if I somehow manage to rip my CDs to mp3 by installing additional codecs, I'd be rendering my perfectly legal music tracks illegal. Is that right?

Why is it that closed source OSes, Windows and OSX dont have such legal issues and most Linux distros do?

Thanks.

This is an international Forum, laws differ from Nation to Nation therefore the advice here is going to differ depending on the members home.

Check with the appropriate authority in your country as to the legal requirements then make your choice.

Now due to COC and legal considerations, Thread closed.