UK copyright laws "outdated"

OUTDATED COPYRIGHT LAWS in the UK need a re-think, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research, or the IPPR.

The research body is mulling over the idea of a personal "private right to copy," which would allow individuals to copy their own CDs onto mp3 players or to rip DVDs for personal use - both of which are currently against the law.

A recent research report published by the National Consumer Council found that just under 60 per cent of 2000 British adults think it's legal to copy your own CDs. Fifty-five per cent of those interviewed have copied CDs before.

In the report the IPPR stated that copyright issues have been guided mainly by the music industry, and it's time for a change. Copyright holders would barely be affected by the right to copy, said the IPPR.

Dr Ian Kearns, deputy director of the IPPR, reckons that it's not the job of the music industry to decide what rights consumers have, but the job of the government.

"British copyright law is out of date with consumer practices and technological process," Kearns went on to say. "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."

The report is just in time, hopes the IPPR, to influence an upcoming review of intellectual property in the UK set up by Gordon Brown. µ