BPI may grant Brits right to rip

While Americans continue to bemoan the loss of fair-use rights via DRM, the Broadcast Flag and other new legislation, Brits may find themselves with new rights via an unlikely source: the BPI, the country's equivalent of the RIAA, which is recommending some changes to the UK's copyright laws. However, the new rights will really only legalize something that both Brits and Americans have been doing for years: ripping music from CDs to digital audio players, which is currently illegal in the UK. As one industry exec said, "this is about the UK music industry responding effectively to the changing way music is consumed." But just because the BPI is willing to bless the idea of ripping CDs you've already purchased, don't think they've gone all soft. When it comes to file sharing, they're in sync with their US counterparts, and will continue hunting down suspected copyright thieves wherever they lurk.

[Osarkon @ May 12th 2006 1:05PM]

Wait....ripping Cd's to mp3 players is illegal here? When did this happen?? Do they expect us to buy all our music off the internet or something? What a load of bullsh*t.

[Josh Warner @ May 12th 2006 1:11PM]

"this is about the UK music industry responding effectively to the changing way music is consumed."

more like: "We finally realize that, despite our sincerest efforts, there is no possible way we can stop this. So, rather than show how obsolete we are, we're going to pretend we're granting you this 'priveledge' you have had all along! Good day, chaps, and you're welcome!"

Screw them, screw the RIAA, screw the MPAA, and all the other media Associations worldwide.

Up next: the British Book Association is shocked - SHOCKED - that some people have been reading parts of their books before they buy them. As a consequence of this revelation, they have decided to attempt to outlaw all reading of books in bookstores. More at 11.

[bob @ May 12th 2006 1:32PM]

if ya cant enforce a law or the law makes everyone a criminal then change it lol

[Todd @ May 12th 2006 2:34PM]

Uh Oh! I see a crack in the dam...the brits get "fair use" now, excellent.

And yes, to the letter of the agreement you click on when you signed up for iTunes, anything you buy at iTunes MUST be copied onto an Apple iPod and nothing else.

...But its OK for newly apointed board memeber Steve Jobs to ram Disney content down our collective throat.

[Finished.Law.School @ May 12th 2006 3:06PM]

I don't need their permission.

[Patrick Dodds @ May 12th 2006 5:21PM]

@ Josh - right on the money. "we can't do anything to enforce an anachronistic law so we'll try and come across as good guys by 'legalising' something you've all been doing for years. Of course, we won't touch the incredibly expensive pricing system we've set up, we won't stop enforcing the law when it comes to firms importing CDs from outside the European trading zone, and we pray to the non-existant god that you don't all start going to allofmp3.com where you can pay a fair price for music and do what you want with it".

[jimmy b @ May 12th 2006 6:00PM]

its ridiculous, are we expected to buy music on different formats to listen to it in different places, for example i dont own a hifi but i play my music ripped from cd onto my computer into my HDTV and then export it to my mp3 player... should i really be expected to pay for the same thing 3 times

[Jono Cono @ May 13th 2006 1:34AM]

Thankfully it's not illegal to rip, download and share files in Canada. Big artists in Canada actually support the fact that people do share and realize that a lot of bands and musicians wouldn't be as popular or have made it big if it wasn't for the sharing technology that we have. And as per previous comments, it's absolutely true that if the people are intent on doing something, you can't stop them!

[MacCrazy @ May 13th 2006 5:50AM]

Does this mean copy-protected CDs which stop ripping will be illegal?

[abigsmurf @ May 13th 2006 10:40AM]

impressive move from the BPI.

Note to UK peeps : you have no right to have backup copies under UK law. You're only allowed to have one workable copy. However the law is unclear in regards to storing things in archives in a form that requires work to get them to function (read : not a workable copy)

[Rob @ May 13th 2006 12:09PM]

I think most people think that it's fine to rip CD's and don't even know it's illegal. I think that as nearly everyone (who owns a DAP and CD's) in the UK has broken this law that they are just updating the law as it's the sensible thing to do. I bought the Arctic Monkeys album a few weeks ago and the first thing I did was rip it to iTunes so I could listen to it on my iPod.

The law regarding this is a complete mess anyway. Does this mean if I buy an album from iTunes that I can put it on my iPod but it would be illegal if i was to write it to a CD and play that CD when I was at home? What if

[thebloglog @ May 13th 2006 7:55PM]

The UK currently charges resident musicians a 90% income tax rate. Now they want to take away their royalties.
-----------------
thebloglog.net: http://www.thebloglog.net
theblogspace.org: http://www.theblogspace.org
-----------------