I am not a Lawyer but those would eb my guesses:
midnight Target:So if my next door neighbor were to play a CD (hypothetically) loud enough for me to hear AND record it, I am violating the copyright on that music?
I think so. But if you recorder it off the radio, under fair use laws you have a right to use it for your personal enjoyment and play in company but not duplicate for distribution nor charge for playing it.
If I were to take a picture of a Coca Cola logo, and put it on my wall, am I violating the copyright of the artist who drew it?[/b]
Private wall, most likely not. If you put it on some other things, probably yes.
If someone were to hand me a free CD, am I not allowed to accept it? What if he paid for it? what if he got it as a gift from someone else?
That's fine. The ownership of the intellectual property is linked to the ownership of the media. You can even legally make personal backup copies of teh CD you own - as long as you do not distribute them or sell/play them for money.
Of course if the person who gave you the CD for free did not destroy all his copies, he will be in violation, unless specifically autorised to replicate the content.
If it is OK for me to accept a gift, how about a gift that requires me to do a few keystrokes on my computer to accept it?
If he gives you a gift and keeps the copy or gives you a gift that he stole, he is in violation, not you - provided you are not aware of the illicit nature of the gift.
If you are buying/receiving stolen property you may not always be liable unless the prosecution proves that you knew the property was stolen.
miko