Copying shouldn't be against the law says IPPR

gallery

UK copyright laws need to be relaxed so that iPod and MP3 users aren't engaging in criminal activity by copying CDs onto their computers.

So says the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), which believes that current copyright law unfairly penalises the millions of Britains who engage in such activity.

As such, it believes that the law, which is hundreds of years old, should be changed to take into account the ways in which listening to music, watching TV and reading books has evolved over the years.

In response to the outdated law, the IPPR has published a report entitled Public Innovation: Intellectual property in a digital age.

The report calls for a 'private right to copy' clause to be added to copyright law to protect users, enabling them to create copies of DVDs and CDs for personal use, without harming copyright owners.

"Millions of Britons copy CDs onto their home computers breaking copyright laws everyday," said deputy IPPR director, Dr Ian Kearns.

"British copyright law is out of date with consumer practices and technological progress. 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 music industry is currently calling for extensions to sound recordings copyright terms.

But these requests should be rejected, as the current protection methodologies in place are sufficient, according to the IPPR.

Just yesterday,

target="new">MySpace.com announced that it plans to use filtering technology on its site to ban copyrighted material that does not have the necessary permissions.

"MySpace is staunchly committed to protecting artists' rights - whether those artists are on major labels or are independent acts," said Chris DeWolfe, the site's co-founder and chief executive.

"This is another important step we're taking to ensure artists control the content they create."

But the IPPR disagrees that it is up t anyone other than government to judge the rights and wrongs of consumer activity.

Kearns added: "When it comes to protecting the interests of copyright holders, the emphasis the music industry has put on tackling illegal distribution and not prosecuting for personal copying, is right. But it is not the music industry's job to decide what rights consumers have. That is the job of Government."

Email to a friend

Print this page