UK Consumer Group Calls for Copyright Law Reform

Notes that almost 3/4 of the population doesn’t know what they’re legally allowed to copy or record, and that copyright law reform is needed before the laws lose all credibility.

Consumer Focus, a UK consumer advocate group, recently commissioned a study of some 2,026 British adults aged 15 years and older to gauge a sense of their adherence to copyright laws in that country.

It found that it’s practically impossible for consumers to infringe copyright law as part of their daily lives if they do not use digital technology, and is calling for copyright law reform before the laws lose all credibility.

Three out of four (73%) surveyed didn’t know what they’re legally allowed to copy or record. Less than one in five (17%) knew it’s illegal to rip a CD or DVD they purchased to a home PC for personal use, and only 15% knew it’s illegal to copy a CD to an iPod. Almost four in ten (38%) of those using either an iPod or MP3 player admit to copying CDs onto their player.

Consumer Focus points out that most copyright laws were written at a time when digital technologies did not exist, but that the pervasiveness of these new technologies means that these laws now affect people more than ever.

‘The credibility of UK copyright law has fallen through the floor. Millions of consumers are regularly copying CDs or DVDs and are unaware they are breaching copyright law,” says Jill Johnstone, the group’s International Director.

Eight out of ten (80%) consumers thought that copyright law should be updated now that we have digital technologies, with slightly more (82%) keen to see reforms striking a fair balance between the interests of consumers and artists.

“The world has moved on and reform of copyright law is inevitable, but it’s not going to update itself,” she adds. “If the Government wants consumers to respect copyright law they have to stop sitting on their hands and bring the law in line with the real world.”

Consumer Focus wants to see ‘fair use right’ exceptions introduced that would allow consumers to make copies of copyrighted work they have purchased provided they are for ‘non-commercial use’ – such as copying CDs or DVDs to play on a different device (format shifting). It says ‘fair use rights’ would protect copyright holders’ exclusive rights, while providing exceptions to copying activities that cause no, or minimal, economic harm to the rights holders.

Considering consumers have purchased the product it only makes sense they be able to do with it as they please so long as it’s for personal use. By interfering with their ability to do so it only gives consumers further impetus to use P2P and other methods to acquire the same content illegally since they’ll be breaking the law anyways when they rip the CD to their iPod or transfer a DVD to their laptop.

Stay tuned.

jared@zeropaid.com