AfterDawn: News

The UK has banned making personal copies of your own music and videos, again

The UK has withdrawn a law that allowed residents to make personal copies of their own music or videos.

In June, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, the Musicians' Union, and UK Music asked for a judicial review of the 'private copying exception' law and the judge ruled in favor of the groups.



It is now once again illegal to make personal backups of your music, movies or e-books and it is also illegal to rip CDs and DVDs to digital files. It is also illegal to upload your own music to the cloud unless it is through a service like Apple or Amazon that you pay for.

As with most UK copyright rulings of the past few years, there was no point except for the music industry to claim they have "fought piracy" in some way. There have been no cases in recent memory of music or movie trade groups suing anyone for personal format shifting and it would be nearly impossible to even find out if someone had done so. In other words -what a waste of time.

Source:
Ars

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 Nov 2015 11:31

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• 18 comments

• Semperfipal

  Good luck enforcing this law. I copy every DVD I purchase as a back up and store it on an external drive. I do the same with the music CD I purchased with my hard earned money. Good luck stopping me! I never store anything in the cloud, it's not secure enough. Like the article says "In other words - what a waste of time."
  

  "Do not underestimate the power of an enemy, no matter how great or small, to rise against you another day." - Atilla

  28.11.2015 11:59 #1

• Bozobub

  I agree, it would be difficult, but you might be surprised.
  
  For example, to enforce their "public performance" fee (charged when you play ANY music where others can hear it, even your own, they employed thousands of roving inspectors. Similarly, they have employees whose only purpose is to stick their noses into your business, to see if you have an unlicensed TV (all TVs are licensed, to pay for the BBC, among other things).
  
  Again, I'm not saying you're wrong, per se, but the Brits don't have even the infinitesimal qualms about violating citizens' rights that the US possesses =p ...

  29.11.2015 03:09 #2

• Mysttic

  " It is also illegal to upload your own music to the cloud unless it is through a service like Apple or Amazon that you pay for."
  
  This is outrageous as it is completely wrong. No one should be forced into any outlet to share their own creative music so that labels and other corporations can profit off them, with or without consent.

  30.11.2015 09:09 #3

• ispy

  So its illegal now to back up media I OWN to my NAS and stream it to my TV's. Outrageous!!
  

  
  

  3.12.2015 16:04 #4

• gbswales

  I dont understand how private industry can force a change in the law. It is easy to see why the industry wants this because they want to sell people multiple copies of music and films to play on different devices. The government and the courts should stand up and defend us from the music industry

  3.12.2015 18:22 #5

• Bozobub

  Originally posted by gbswales: I dont understand how private industry can force a change in the law. It is easy to see why the industry wants this because they want to sell people multiple copies of music and films to play on different devices. The government and the courts should stand up and defend us from the music industry
  Corporations own most governments, that simple. In some countries, the "corporations" are really organized crime, but it is what it is.

  3.12.2015 18:35 #6

• ChikaraNZ

  Absolutely ridiculous. Unless the industry is going to promise to replace a CD or DVD if it accidentally gets scratched or damaged, then people will continue to ignore this.
  In fact they are shooting themselves in the foot (yet again) because these are people who have actually legally purchased a CD or DVD to begin with, yet they are destroying goodwill with them.
  One of these decades the music and movie industry is finally going to get with the times.
  

  3.12.2015 19:29 #7

• xxschizo

  this kind of stuff typically angers people and makes them more determined to back up their own music, movies, etc. and incites some to pirate copyrighted material.

  4.12.2015 10:04 #8

• mtins65

  demoRATS?
  
  

  4.12.2015 10:42 #9

• BazaBoom

  Originally posted by Bozobub: I agree, it would be difficult, but you might be surprised.
  
  For example, to enforce their "public performance" fee (charged when you play ANY music where others can hear it, even your own, they employed thousands of roving inspectors. Similarly, they have employees whose only purpose is to stick their noses into your business, to see if you have an unlicensed TV (all TVs are licensed, to pay for the BBC, among other things).
  
  Again, I'm not saying you're wrong, per se, but the Brits don't have even the infinitesimal qualms about violating citizens' rights that the US possesses =p ... Yes I agree have your girl friend over for a film night you split up, fed`s are at the door all your collection Blu Ray`s DVD, PC and hard drives gone in minuets, big fine, How many Good People will also read this and think SH*T I don't want to brake the law and throw 1000`s of back up discs away, don't think that wont happen, the land fill now full of none degrading plastic that may rot away in a 100 years, if ya lucky.
  

  4.12.2015 18:56 #10

• qazwiz

  "T" party in 1776
  "CD" and "DVD" party scheduled for 2016
  

  qazwiz is qazwiz everywhere. If you see me say HI!

  5.12.2015 02:40 #11

• megadunderhead

  Except for the issue you all pointed out.
  
  1. they said you can't redistribute the content vis torrents and download sites well then i will just go to a private service and encrypt my connection so you can't see or do jack s**t.
  
  2. you said its illegal to rip your own movies and music well good luck with that do you want them to just download it from youtube instead this didn't stop jack
  
  3. and this is also bad because they can do something you won't want them to do install malware and trogens on your music cd's on your dvd's to track you
  
  

  6.12.2015 01:16 #12

• qazwiz

  Originally posted by xxschizo: this kind of stuff typically angers people and makes them more determined to back up their own music, movies, etc. and incites some to pirate copyrighted material. EXACTLY...
  remember when some azz ruled you couldn't have that hexadecimal hash code for the universal decoder for DVD's?
  
  Everybody started making T-Shirts with the number printed on it
  
  (((for those who don't remember, just before blue ray came out the big thing was the NEW and IMPROVED DRM that "couldn't be broken" well the hexadecimal code needed to universally decode the DRM (for ANY dvd made ) was deciphered in less than 48 hours I believe... plug the digits into DVD Decrypter and the "can't be broken" encryption was gone.)))
  

  qazwiz is qazwiz everywhere. If you see me say HI!

  10.12.2015 06:34 #13

• BazaBoom

  Originally posted by qazwiz: Originally posted by xxschizo: this kind of stuff typically angers people and makes them more determined to back up their own music, movies, etc. and incites some to pirate copyrighted material. EXACTLY...
  remember when some azz ruled you couldn't have that hexadecimal hash code for the universal decoder for DVD's?
  
  Everybody started making T-Shirts with the number printed on it
  
  (((for those who don't remember, just before blue ray came out the big thing was the NEW and IMPROVED DRM that "couldn't be broken" well the hexadecimal code needed to universally decode the DRM (for ANY dvd made ) was deciphered in less than 48 hours I believe... plug the digits into DVD Decrypter and the "can't be broken" encryption was gone.))) I think they forget that a lot of geniuses come home from work and play upon there PC for fun, saying it can`t be done doesn't sit well with some of them! DVDShrink must be a granddad now.
  

  10.12.2015 11:28 #14

• qazwiz

  Originally posted by BazaBoom:
  I think they forget that a lot of geniuses come home from work and play upon there PC for fun, saying it can`t be done doesn't sit well with some of them! DVDShrink must be a granddad now. I'm only borderline genius (just under the 140 needed to be labeled genius) and i still get boiling mad if I'm told that I'm "too dumb" to be able to do something ... and let's face it, phrases like "impenetrable safe" "pick-proof lock" and yes "unbreakable DRM" are just boasting that they are smarter than anyone else thus throwing down the gauntlet for anyone with the time and resources to prove the boasting jerks are wrong.
  
  now days it is irresponsible (and even criminal if used in advertisements) to use any term that implies that anything is impossible when in fact a brute force method is available. A finite number of possibilities means that eventually someone will break it.
  
  for forty years TV's have been using the four digit code "PIN" to and for forty years bored teens and tweens of average intelligence have taken the time to enter all 10,000 combinations (or rather, averaging 5,000 tries until they succeed) in bypassing the locks on porn channels...
  
  the ones with a modicum of extra smarts will research the device they have (often the user's manual is nearby with needed info) and then in less than a minute reset the device to manufactures settings and voila, no more lock... a minute or two more and the device has a new lockout code that the kid knows and the parents have zero clues at how to open or even reset what they tried to stop their child from accessing.
  
  so I don't think it has anything to do with "forgetting" about geniuses, it is more an arrogance of refusing to think. the same people who strive to force their children to be better that they are, refuse to think that the next generation could possibly have a better idea... the pity is we have these geniuses DESPITE not because of their actions. with the schools of so called "civilized" nations deteriorating as the "Spend more taxes" politicians waste more money on a system that isn't really any different than it was 100 years ago when Thomas Edison was verbally abused, berated as an idiot, and his mother was told he wouldn't be any better than a common laborer when she complained of how he was treated.
  
  these days they have tests and programs but the same pigeon holing abuses still exist. so while dunce caps and swats are no longer part of the curriculum they have left a void in disciplining hard core abstinence and hold back the ones that are bored stiff just like Edison was in fourth grade when his mother took the time to pull him from school and home school him with a program tailored to challenge him to go further not just be satisfied with getting A's until it bored him into "disrupting" the class with his personal attempts to learn something.
  
  I will get off my soap box for now but anyone who wants to know how we SHOULD be treating the school children of today so we get a next generation that is actually better than the one before it can contact me on Facebook message or my gmail account
  

  qazwiz is qazwiz everywhere. If you see me say HI!

  12.12.2015 10:05 #15

• Interestx

  Having seen the 'great job' they did (& used to 'sell' HD video discs to movie studios) with Blu-ray etc I can only laugh at how they intend to pitch 4k discs.
  Does anyone still listen to that piffle (& more importantly still get conned into paying for it?
  

  13.12.2015 10:28 #16

• mtins65

  the government of england sure does seem 2 b made up of a bunch of stupid MF'ERS but what does that say 4 the stupid MF'ERS that keep putting them in charge? but look what the stupid MF'ERS in the USA did twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  

  13.12.2015 11:17 #17

• qazwiz

  Originally posted by mtins65: the government of england sure does seem 2 b made up of a bunch of stupid MF'ERS but what does that say 4 the stupid MF'ERS that keep putting them in charge? but look what the stupid MF'ERS in the USA did twice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMEN
  I actually think the English system would be better than the USA system... you have .. um... lets call them "silly candidates" that likely only get votes if the other "serious" party candidates are too repulsive to be given a vote
  
  but the biggest problem with both is that the candidates are being "VETTED" behind closed doors by unelected people with secret agendas. while i doubt the result was always nefarious, I suspect that current backroom shenanigans is preventing persons who would actually do the people some good from even being heard of as a viable candidate let alone getting on the ballot
  
  I definitely believe that people who have claimed that they do not want to run are really being blackmailed not to run and should the blackmail not work the resulting tirade of marshmallow scandals make a laughing stock of the candidate while a president lying under oath will be poo pooed as "He lied about a blow job" when the focus should be "He thinks he is above the law"
  

  qazwiz is qazwiz everywhere. If you see me say HI!

  14.12.2015 14:20 #18