Government set to pass new laws to make copying CDs legal

Vince Cable calls current copyright restrictions 'archaic'

The government has announced it is planning to revamp laws that currently make it illegal to copy music from a CD to an MP3 player or to another CD.

According to Sky News this morning (August 3), the government will move to make it legal for material to be copied between formats without fear of recrimination, with Business Secretary Vince Cable calling the current laws on copyright “archaic”.

The report also suggests that the new laws will protect so-called spoof and parody versions of tracks from being affected by copyright restrictions.

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YouTube hit ‘Newport State Of Mind’ was recently forced to be removed from the website after a copyright complaint over its content from record label EMI.

Not all parties are agreed on this though, with N-Dubz manager and chairman of artist representation group Roar Global Jonathan Shalit arguing it represents trouble for his clients.

He said:

The minute you say it is legal to copy something you’re then legitimising it and where does the barrier or boundaries of immediate family end. I think it has not been well thought through and a lack of respect remains for artists who create the original product.

The full plans for the new laws are expected to be announced in the next few months.

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