The UK Government has announced new measures to update copyright laws for ripping audio and video into new formats- a move likely to affect the media consumption habits of millions of citizens.
On Wednesday, Vince Cable, the UK Business Secretary announced intentions to update what he called “archaic” British copyright laws.
“We now live in a digital age – but our laws and business practices are still very much stuck in the analog era,” he said at an event at the British Library.
Secretary Cable estimated that the measures will bring in the equivalent of 7.9 billion pounds (9 billion euros) to the British economy, and said it would legalize what millions of people already do with music they’ve bought.
The government based its proposed changes on recommendations from a 2010 review supported by an independent advisory panel and headed by Ian Hargreaves, a professor at Cardiff University in Wales.
Cable said the “common sense” measures would allow regular people who buy a CD or DVD to download it onto their personal computer or portable media player – a practice that is still illegal in the United Kingdom.
Peter Bradwell, a campaigner at Open Rights Group – which aims to raise awareness on digital rights and civil liberties – says British people may have been breaking the law for years without knowing it.
A lot of people are surprised, he noted, when they find out that something as simple as transferring audio from vinyl onto their computer, or ripping CDs onto an iPod, is technically illegal.
The new format-shifting rules “should really make the law match what most consumers are already doing – which is trying to find the right device and listen to music in the way they want,” Bradwell told Deutsche Welle.
The new framework would also allow people to parody film and music content. Under current rules, parody artists technically must obtain the original artist’s consent for it to be legal.
Many European Union countries already allow format-shifting of legally purchased audiovisual material – an EU directive allows private copying if copyright holders are granted “fair compensation.”
In some countries, this is accomplished through a levy on digital copying equipment, devices and media, like blank CDs. Those fees collected are paid to property rights organizations, which then disburse them to copyright holders.
In a related move, the UK’s ruling coalition also decided to scrap earlier proposals to block websites that host copyright-infringing material.
This decision came under fire by UK Music, which represents musicians and record labels in the UK.
