I was just wondering... I'm not saying I've done this or I'm going to do this... but;

If I once had a CD, but now I've lost it and I can PROVE I bought it (like via my Amazon shipping or the like) can I legally download a copy of it from one of the various naughty websites there are knocking around?!

Just on the basis that I have, at one time, paid for that album?

Nope. The RIAA will not allow that as a defense if they catch you and decide to prosecute.

Problem here is that the physical disc/box is your licence to listen to the music.
Now as you have lost it you will need to purchase another licence so you can listen to it again.

Yep, it really is getting THAT confusing.

What? That's crazy!

So what happens if I buy a CD, rip it to my iTunes and then lose the CD... is that as illegal?

As Ben notes, you have to be able to prove your license and that proof involves having the physical disk.

What? That's crazy!

So what happens if I buy a CD, rip it to my iTunes and then lose the CD ... is that as illegal?That's a bit of a grey area in that the RIAA won't find you with their monitoring tools because you aren't getting the songs online. BTW miliions of people are doing exactly that: ripping their CDs to have a digital library to enjoy whenever and however they wish.

Need has a good point, but lets look at this scenario. You have a bunch of CDs that you bought legally and ripped so you have a large MP3 library. Now you also were foolish enough to get some of your collection by piracy. So the RIAA tracks you and issues a summons. Your hard drive is looked at and you can only prove that you have licenses for 25% of them. You would be liable for the other 75% even though, you did, at one time, have the CDs.

Need has a good point, but lets look at this scenario. You have a bunch of CDs that you bought legally and ripped so you have a large MP3 library. Now you also were foolish enough to get some of your collection by piracy. So the RIAA tracks you and issues a summons. Your hard drive is looked at and you can only prove that you have licenses for 25% of them. You would be liable for the other 75% even though, you did, at one time, have the CDs.

While this scenario sounds far fetched, it's very close to the truth.

The most worrying thing is that the RIAA was originally designed to promote the record labels, now it is simply a vehicle to litigate against the labels customer base!!

So, far from the case at the moment, where I'm ripping all my old CDs and then binning them, I should be hoarding them like gold! Ha ha!