Intellectual Property Law

Lord to Commoners: Copy Away!

By Sheppard Mullin

Our friends across the pond are considering a new proposal that would change the rules regarding the copying of movies and music. Specifically, the proposal would allow the copying of legitimately acquired music and movies between storage devices for "private use." Current law in the United Kingdom makes private copying such as this illegal. The proposal seeks to reconcile the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 with an increasingly tech savvy public that regularly engages in copying between personal devices.

The proposal is not without detractors, particularly from those worried about the definition of "private use." These concerns may be well founded as the potentially problematic proposal may inject an additional layer of confusion into the already convoluted interaction between copyright law and newer technologies.

Full post as published by Intellectual Property Law on January 09, 2008 (boomark / email).