News - UK government to legalise personal digital copies of media

[HEXUS]

Begins to implement at least some of the Hargreaves report.

Read more.

[Smudger]

Weren't we supposed to copy music to MP3 players then?

[Kanoe]

Weren't we supposed to copy music to MP3 players then?

Yes if it was an mp3, the main issue comes from changing the format of the media e.g you bought a CD but want to listen to it on your mp3 player then technically you would have to rebuy it as an mp3 to be fully complient with current laws even though you bought the CD already.

This is just finally applying common sense.

[Andeh13]

Yet some artists and recording studios are still fighting this. They want us to pay an extra charge on blanks CDs etc for them to be compensated for their loss... that industry really does have its head so far up its ass!

[Percy1983]

Lets be honest this is a move just to match what we have been doing, I know I have been copying/converting many types of media for my own purposes for quite some time, I always knew legally it was wrong, but I really couldn't see any moral reason for it to be wrong.

[Noxvayl]

It is about time we had more sanity in copyright law. Now they need to sort out the litigation mess that has developed so we can return to remixing freely.

[WritersBlock]

About time.

Although changing the law to match practice is sensible. Any law that can't be enforced helps bring all laws into ridicule.

[Saracen]

Weren't we supposed to copy music to MP3 players then?

You aren't supposed to copy ANY work protected by copyright unless you either have permission from the copyright owner, or the copying falls under one of the fairly limited "statutory exemptions" .... like "timeshifting" a broadcast transmission, Crown purposes (like evidence in court), some academic purposes (though that's got some significant restrictions), news journalism, etc..

So no, in the UK, you aren't allowed to copy CD to MP3, DVD to computer file, etc. Probably it's the most frequently broken law in the history of humanity, though.

[watercooled]

Nice to see changes are being made, I just hope people don't interpret it as a free pass to copy everything for other people.

Also, I wonder how this works with regards to DVD/BD copy protection? People often rip films for network streaming or portable devices, so it would be pointless to clarify the legality of personal copying if it's still technically illegal to bypass copy protection...

It would nice if this carried over to games too - I also hate being forced to use DRM, and it's put me off buying a few games. If it were legal, someone might come out with some decent DRM removal tools because, let's face it, it makes no difference to pirates who wont pay for it either way, and it might even decrease apparent piracy rates as less people would buy then download to avoid DRM.

[maverik-sg1]

Yep - I agree as long as you really do own a product in one format - then it should be yours to do with as you please.

I've recently purchased triple play box sets for family Christmas presents - but also a DVD of the new Batman and Spider-Man movies which come with UV digital copies, the digital UV copies will expire in a year, even though I've purchased the product.

Time limited digital copies is not value for money - it's a rip off, you might as well come and knock on my door and ask for the chuffin disk back!!

So I welcome this application of common sense - as someone has already said, it's not morally wrong, so I never saw a problem with it...... it means I can now legally convert these to digital copies that won't expire and use them instead of the DVD's which can remain in mint condition in the box.

[Mama Sumae]

Finally, now to find the cassette tapes I stored in the attic.


And boys don't forget:

[kalniel]

Well that was more in response to taping a broadcast and using that instead of buying a tape yourself. That's still illegal unless under the specific time-shifting conditions mentioned before.

[Terbinator]

When was the last time any one, if any one, was ever convicted of ripping a CD?

[Mama Sumae]

Well that was more in response to taping a broadcast and using that instead of buying a tape yourself. That's still illegal unless under the specific time-shifting conditions mentioned before.

I know that was exactly the point

[kalniel]

When was the last time any one, if any one, was ever convicted of ripping a CD?

Well it's a non-enforced law, so no-one should be convicted recently. I do remember a court case some time back about someone creating a compilation tape or CD for their car journey. Can't remember the outcome though, I think it was in favour of the defendant.

[watercooled]

I wonder how they got caught?