Legal change for personal CD ripping...

DBT85

DBT85

DBT85

Soldato
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Just saw this on the BBC site, about time too!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14372698

BBC said:
Soon it will no longer be illegal to rip CDs or DVDs for personal use.

The government is poised to announce the change as it accepts some of the recommendations of the wide-ranging Hargreaves Review of UK copyright law.

The review was intended to identify legislation that has been outdated by technological change.

As well as legalising "format shifting", it also suggested relaxing rules on parody and creating an agency to licence copyrighted content.

Business secretary Vince Cable is set to announce the official response to the Hargreaves Review at a press conference.

The government is widely expected to accept and pledge to implement many parts of the review.

'Not very good law'
Millions of people regularly convert movies on DVDs and music on CDs into a format that they can move around more easily, although most do not realise that it technically illegal.

"The review pointed out that if you have a situation where 90% of your population is doing something, then it's not really a very good law," said Simon Levine, head of the intellectual property and technology group at DLA Piper.

Legalising non-commercial copying for private use would bring the UK into line with many other nations and also meet the "reasonable expectations" of consumers, said the government.

The change would not make it legal to make copies and then share them online.

The legal anomaly preventing personal "ripping" was one of many identified by Professor Ian Hargreaves in the review as stifling innovation.

One technology caught out by the law was the Brennan JB7 music player that lets owners copy their CDs onto a hard drive that can be accessed from around a home.

The Advertising Standards Authority demanded that Brennan advise customers that using the JB7 breaks the law.

Some legal experts believe that the acceptance of format shifting, combined with relaxations on manipulating works for the purpose of parody, paved the way for creative people to use content in different ways.

Susan Hall, a media specialist at law firm Cobbetts LLP, said the changes would give many artists "room to breathe" and remove the nervousness they might feel when using another work as inspiration.

One example that would be tolerated under the new regime is the Welsh rap song Newport State of Mind which was based on Jay Z and Alicia Keys's song Empire State of Mind.

Many Britons rip CDs and DVDs to make them easier to watch and listen to
Despite winning many fans on YouTube, the track was removed following a copyright claim by EMI. It is still available on other websites.

"There are all sorts of things that are genuine artistic works which are nevertheless based on parody, caricature and pastiche," said Ms Hall.

Updated laws on copyright could have a profound effect on the popular culture that can be created, albeit one that was hard to measure, she added.

One example is that of Doctor Who writers Russell T Davies and Steven Moffat who began their careers writing fan fiction about the time lord.

Such creative synergies could become more common in a more tolerant copyright climate, suggested Ms Hall.

"Rights holders are often very nervous about things like this but when you come down to it, it's the people that buy everything who also go to the trouble of writing and creating more," she said.

"It's about riffing off, not passing off."
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Good news but overshadowed by the fact BT have been ordered to block some sites based on some of the content available on it.

Are they really sure what they are doing?
 
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Sin_Chase said:
Good news but overshadowed by the fact BT have been ordered to block some sites based on some of the content available on it.

Are they really sure what they are doing?
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As long as they also block Google for doing the same thing then I don't mind. Oh no wait...that wont happen lol.
 
Sin_Chase said:
Good news but overshadowed by the fact BT have been ordered to block some sites based on some of the content available on it.

Are they really sure what they are doing?
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BT have been ordered to block access to a site that collects information on where to download illegally ripped and copied movies.

How is this anything like allowing you to "format shift" music and films you've actually bought?

Two totally different things - so why compare?
This is in no way "new rules" as a step forward to allowing piracy and a good thing to.
 
Great a consultation on recommendations which were stated in the Gower's Report in 2006. Nice to know the government are on the pulse of the IP and tech sectors.
 
Will be interesting to see how this affects the copy protection on some CDs and DVDs. Also, what about game discs if we want to make backups of them?
 
"The review pointed out that if you have a situation where 90% of your population is doing something, then it's not really a very good law," said Simon Levine, head of the intellectual property and technology group at DLA Piper.
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On that basis the 70mph speed limit on all motorways should be raised to at least 80 ^^
 
stoofa said:
Two totally different things - so why compare?
This is in no way "new rules" as a step forward to allowing piracy and a good thing to.
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2 different things yes but very much in the same region of law. The BT block is less about WHETHER it is illegal or not and very much about the precedence it sets.

My point is that the change to personal use law is a formality basically, everyone does and will continue to do it anyway. So it's elss abut the legal implementation (none, really) and more about them showing they want to catch up with the times. Blocking access to a website because a label, for example, kicks and screams is not a very good way to show your 'good' intent.
 
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