[Infowarrior] - Music industry in UK: "it's okay to legally copy music"

[Richard Forno]

Legalise personal music copying, says BPI
By Andrew Murray-Watson (Filed: 07/05/2006)
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/05/07/cnbpi07.xm
l&menuId=242&sSheet=/money/2006/05/07/ixcitytop.html

The British music industry is to recommend to the Government that consumers
be allowed to legally copy music without fear of prosecution.

The BPI, the body that represents British record companies, believes
copyright on CDs and records should be changed to allow consumers to copy
music if it is for personal use. Currently, it is technically illegal for
anyone to copy a CD onto their computer for the purposes of downloading
music onto their own portable music player.

In its submission to the Gowers Review - the independent review body set up
by the Treasury to examine the UK's intellectual property framework - the
BPI has asked for the issue of this area of music copyright to be addressed.

It is believed the organisation, which represents the likes of EMI and
Sanctuary, prefers the option of altering copyright protections on music
without the requirement for a change in legislation.

The BPI has vigorously prosecuted consumers who share music illegally over
the internet using peer-to-peer (P2P) websites. It wants the current
legislative protections to remain in place for these music "pirates", but
believes allowances should be made for individuals who simply want to copy
music for their own use.

"This is about the UK music industry responding effectively to the changing
way music is consumed," said a senior industry figure yesterday.

If Gowers endorses the BPI's preferred solution to the issue of copying
music, it will lead to one of the most significant changes in UK copyright
law in decades.

Some of the UK's existing music copyright laws date back nearly 100 years,
to the days when the gramophone was cutting-edge technology.

The Gowers Review, led by Andrew Gowers, the former editor of the Financial
Times, will look to update a raft of antiquated laws and address the
contentious issue of artists losing copyright protection on recorded music
after 50 years.

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