Copy-protected CDs - philosophical discussion


My previous copy-protection thread probably deserves a follow-up since the issue is just as troubling ethically/legally/philosophically as it is technically.

Record companies are selling CDs which do not play on a PC's CD player. However, the CDs are not identified as such and, according to at least one source, may have trouble playing on high-end systems and car CD players.

Here's the news story:
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-6604222.html

Here's an unofficial list of copy-protected CDs, authored by a guy whose opinion on the matter should be quite obvious:
http://fatchucks.com/corruptcds/corrupt.html

Reserving the technical discussion and "can you actually hear it" discussions for my previous thread, what are your feelings on the softer side of this issue, especially given the vast amount of software that we collectively gave/received over the past couple of weeks?

Don't hold back, now!

FWIW, my take is that this is just another case of technology scaring the crap out of a lumbering entrenched industry with severely dated business models because the geeks are infinitely smarter and more creative than the suits can ever hope to be. Just like the lawsuit against Napster, it may succeed in its immediate goal (for a month or so), but misses the real point completely. Alienating customers who are not criminals is bad business. For many of us Audiogoners, I imagine the presence of "all but inaudible" distortion on a recording is reason enough to avoid it like the plague. The music business is not about “clicks and pops”; it's about music.
powerste
Just a shot in the dark but it seems like whenever there is a situation that potentially limits profits for corporate America, well then, uhm, ah, seems like my computer just made some popping & clicking noises & now I can't hear what I just said.
Is a copy-protected cd any longer a redbook cd or now something else? Is this a deceptive act selling a redbook that is altered? Is there a chance of a class action here? We're not be sold "pure product". Copy-protected cds should be renamed if they're not dvd-a, sacd or redbook cds....just a thought.....someone, somewhere will haul them to court, just for the principle involved here and good luck to them....
Follow-up question . . . Do the retailers know which of their CDs are copy-protected? Thanks, Joel
Kelly, we'll light the torches, you lead the way !

(Joel, the store OWNER might know, but tell me when was the last time that you asked a question to an employee and got any more than a shoulder shirk and a huh?)
I will probably draw much wrath with this response, but here goes: I understand what the major labels are trying to do, is to protect their financial interest and, yeah, even throw the artists a penny or two. My older brother, 50, was very proud telling me one day that the CD I loaned him, The Fairfield Four - "Standing in the Safety Zone" (very good recording by the way, that bass voice can go so low and actually have a definite pitch, he can hit notes I can't even croak in a whisper) was the most popular CD to be burned/copied in the Firehouse (yes, he's a fireman) - 21 times!! I wanted to strangle him. And this is just one instance in one small city in the laid-back state of Iowa. What goes on in New York, California, etc?

Yes, I can see protecting your interests, but not to the point of potentially ruining product for others and, then, being sneaky enough to not tell anyone which are coded and which are not.

They have fallen to a new low.

Todd