Copying CDs and DVDs just became illegal in the UK. Again.
The UK has had something of an on-off relationship with CD and DVD ripping. It was illegal, and then it was legalized. But things reverted back. Just last year, ripping was made legal once again, but a High Court ruling today overturned the legislation meaning that disc copiers will -- once again -- be breaking the law.
The government had introduced legislation that permitted people to made copies of audio and video discs they owned, provided it was for personal use. The latest ruling, however, kills the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Personal Copies for Private Use) Regulations 2014 because of a failure to implement a compensation scheme for artists and copyright holders.
The quashing of the regulations means that laws surrounding ripping have taken a step back in time yet again. It had been suggested that the legalization of ripping would have "zero or insignificant" impact on sales and income, therefore negating the need to a set up a compensation scheme. The Musicians’ Union, UK Music, and the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors disagreed and fought the ruling.
Passing judgement today, Mr Justice Green said:
It is clear that I should quash the Regulations. I make clear that this covers the entirety of the Regulations and all of the rights and obligations contained therein.
It is something that has been welcomed by the music industry, including CEO of UK Music, Jo Dipple:
Last month, the high court agreed with us that the government acted unlawfully when it introduced an exception to copyright for private copying without fair compensation. We therefore welcome the court’s decision today to quash the existing regulations. It is vitally important that fairness for songwriters, composers and performers is written into the law.
In reality, the ruling is largely tokenism. Casual home copying is virtually impossible to police, although largescale ripping factories are a different matter.
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