UK May Legalize Digital Copying

Digital copyright laws in the UK are being reviewed, indicating that copying CDs and DVDs onto computers, computers, iPods or other MP3 players, may soon be deemed legal in the country. A think tank called ‘The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) has appealed to the UK government for ‘private right to copy’, which will decriminalize the millions of UK citizens who break the ‘outdated’ digital copyright law.

The IPPR report’s key recommendation is that any policy regarding Intellectual Property policy should recognize that knowledge is a public resource first and a private asset second. The report also calls for the government to reject calls from the UK music industry to extend the copyright term for sound recording beyond the current 50 years. Moreover, the report also addresses the conflict between Digital Rights Management (DRM) technologies and accessibility technologies.

A survey by UK’s National Consumer Council revealed that more than half of British consumers are infringing copyright law by copying CDs on to their computers, iPods or other MP3 players. It also found that 55% of UK citizens had copied CDs and 59% believed it was legal to do.

Intellectual property laws, which cover digital copyright in the UK, are currently being reviewed by the government and a rough draft should be out, ahead of the pre-budget report in November.

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