Copyright laws confusing majority of Brits
Copyright laws need amending in a big way to take into consideration the Internet and digital technologies. The music industry may be against such changes as it could be the beginning of the end for record companies, but the simple fact is the laws don’t currently work. What’s more, most people aren’t even sure what the current laws are anyway. And that’s not helping anyone.
The problem with laws are that they’re created at a certain time with no foresight as to what is going to happen in the future. Obviously. This means that due to shifting social norms or changes of technology, laws constantly need to be updated or changed wholesale. And politicians and law-makers are often slow in adapting laws to better suit everyday life.
In the U.K. it is illegal to copy a legitimately-bought music CD to your computer, whether as a back-up copy or for personal use. It’s also illegal to transfer music from a CD to an mp3 player. Unfortunately, most Brits are unaware of the copyright laws, with the majority confused as what is legal and what is not illegal.
According to a new survey of 2,026 people by Consumer Focus, 73 percent of Brits don’t know what they are and are not allowed to record and copy. More worryingly, only 17 percent know that it is illegal to copy a legally-purchased CD or DVD to a computer, with just 15 percent aware that it is illegal to copy them to an iPod or other PMP (Portable Media Player).
Consumer Focus, which is a government-backed watchdog looking out for consumers, is therefore seeking an updating of the outdated laws. International Director of Consumer Focus, Jill Johnstone, said:
The credibility of UK copyright law has fallen through the floor. Millions of consumers are regularly copying CDs or DVDs and are unaware they are breaching copyright law. The world has moved on and reform of copyright law is inevitable, but it’s not going to update itself. If the Government wants consumers to respect copyright law they have to stop sitting on their hands and bring the law in line with the real world.
A complete overhaul of the copyright laws are needed in this new era where digital media is opening up all manner of exciting possibilities, not just for music, but also TV, movies, and radio. My guess would be that the U.K. isn’t the only country to have failed in its mission to keep on top of new media and update its laws accordingly.
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February 26th, 2010
as far as i am aware, it has been established that ripping cds for personal use and transfer to mp3 players falls under the “fair use” clause of UK copyright law, so no change needed there. what’s more, there is actually a revision of the copyright act currently working its way through the uk parliament.
February 26th, 2010
Hmmm, perhaps it is like the USA, deliberately vague and confusing, so that the US government can trump up charges for political undersireables…
February 26th, 2010
In Australia, current copyright law allows one to “format shift” music from a CD to a portable media player. But it is not legal to do the same with a movie, or from a copyright protected DVD.