The Institute for Public Policy Research has called for changes to UK copyright laws
UK think-tank calls for right to copy CDs and DVDs
/v3-uk/news/1948530/uk-tank-calls-copy-cds-dvds
30 Oct 2006, Bobby Pickering , V3
Centre-left think-tank the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has called for changes to UK copyright laws to allow an equivalent of US 'fair use' legislation which permits individuals to make copies of digitised works for their own use.
According to the IPPR, UK laws currently make criminals of "millions of Brits
each year" using iPods and other MP3 players to copy CDs onto computers in MP3
format.
"British copyright law is out of date with consumer practices and technological
progress," said IPPR deputy director Dr Ian Kearns.
"Giving people a legal 'private right to copy' would allow them to copy their own CDs and DVDs onto their home computers, laptops or phones without breaking the law."
The report has been released in advance of the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property set in place by Chancellor Gordon Brown of the UK's 300 year-old copyright laws.
The review is being chaired by former Financial Times editor Andrew Gowers, and is scheduled to report sometime in autumn 2006.
It will make recommendations on the instruments (patents, copyrights etc) and the operations for granting the instruments.
However, recording artists including Cliff Richard have expressed dismay over another significant recommendation of the IPPR report, which calls for the government to reject calls from the music industry to extend the copyright term for sound recordings beyond 50 years.
Richard has campaigned hard for an extension to 70 years, just as some of his most famous recordings are about to come out of the 50-year copyright period.
The report also enters into the digital rights management arena, which could affect access to digitised e-book content, especially for disabled users.
The report calls for greater flexibility in the publishing industry towards electronic content, especially for libraries.
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Do you agree?
American citizen
I think your article may have a slight flaw in it. In your article you state that Americans can copy DVD?s to there hard drives.
As an American it is my understand that I am allowed by the fair use laws to make a copy of my music cd?s to use on my computer and MP3 player, however I am not allowed to copy DVD's because in doing so i would have to break the Encryption on the DVD.
The fare use laws would cause me to assume that I should be allowed to copy my DVD however the Encryption on the DVD brings in another layer of the Law which makes it a criminal act if I were to break the Encryption. My hope is that the Fair use laws will be updated to allow consumers to make copies of the DVD?s that they legally own.
One last point. I feel that the Encryption upon DVD?s is a tactic used by the Movie industry to circumvent the established law that allows consumers to make a legal copy of the legal content that they have bought. I'm concerned that the Music industry could release encrypted Music cd?s and thus make it a crime to put your music on your MP3 player. It appears that most laws are not written for the benefit of the consumers. They are written for the benefit of the Corporations.
Posted by Paul Pitcher, 30 Oct 2006