UK copyright laws out of date with consumers, technologies

Three-hundred-year old UK copyright laws are out of date and should be rewritten to protect users of the iPod and other MP3 players, according to a report from an influential thinktank Sunday.

Under the UK's current legislation, millions of Brits break the copyright laws each year when copying their own CDs onto their iPods and other MP3 players, said the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) in the report.

The report said it was time to overhaul the copyright regulations and recommend a legal "private right to copy" that would allow people to make copies of CDs, or DVDs for personal use.

"British copyright law is out of date with consumer practices and technological progress. Giving people a legal 'private right to copy' would allow them to copy their own CDs and DVDs onto their home computers, laptops or phones without breaking the law," said Ian Kearns, IPPR's deputy director.

The IPPR report hopes to influence the outcome of a forthcoming review of Intellectual Property, set up by Chancellor Gordon Brown and chaired by Andrew Gowers. IPPR said the review should update the copyright laws to take account of the changes in the way people want to listen to music, watch films and read books.

According to a research published Sunday by the National Consumer Council, more than half of British consumers are infringing copyright laws by copying CDs on to their computers, iPods or other MP3 players. The research, based on interviews with more than 2,000 adults, found that 55 percent have copied CDs and 59 percent believe it is legal to do so.

Source:Xinhua/Agencies