UK Will Review its Intellectual Property Laws

DeluxeNames

The UK is awaiting the release of a report by the Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, a task force charged with suggesting changes to the country's intellectual property laws. The formation of the commission has inspired a flurry of private books and reports on IP designed to influence debate on the subject. While many of these are exactly as interesting as you'd expect, a new report from the Institute for Public Policy Research offers a fascinating look at the reasons behind intellectual property rights and suggests a new way forward for Britain: thinking about knowledge as a public resource first, and a private asset second. Is this idealistic, anti-business pinko blue-skying? The group says no.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061102-8133.html

MGDesigns

Interesting

I like the following from the above link:-

Ripping a CD legally

While some of the larger structural changes desired by the IPPR might not end up as Gowers Review recommendations, one of their specific proposals stands a good chance of becoming law in the near future. Britain has a bizarre copyright law that prevents consumers from legally ripping music from CD to their portable music players, which criminalizes the activities of half the people in the country, according the the Guardian.
Ian Kearns, the deputy director of the IPPR, told the paper, "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."
The IPPR report calls for the removal of the restriction on CD ripping. With most people doing it anyway, you can bet such an item would be a popular feature of the Gowers Review. We'll know within weeks whether it made the cut.

DeluxeNames

Wow, did you in the UK even know it was illegal to rip your own CDs into MP3s?

MGDesigns

DeluxeNames wrote: »

Wow, did you in the UK even know it was illegal to rip your own CDs into MP3s?

Yep and I'd say most do and don't care lol

LurkinBack

It's the same as the old VHS law that used to be "in effect". By Uk law you had to delete or over record everything you taped from the television after 3 months otherwise you were stealing.

Not many people did with that one either:D

WatchOut

No offence, but i think this stink!

I mean if you own the pc, and wanna convert them into a huge MP3 cd, why would that be illegal.

You are using it for personal use, not like you're selling ...