Britain has put its model of the controversial European Union Copyright Directive into effect on Friday. This law is intended to go after unauthorised music, video and software distribution whether it is over the Internet or other mediums throughout Britain. Britain's version of t he law is known as the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003. Like the DMCA in the US, it does not provide any 'Fair Use' exceptions that would allow consumers to legally make backups of their copyrighted media. Some even consider this law to be European's toughest digital copyright law so far.
This law was originally intended to be implemented last December 22nd, but has been delayed due to it being considered too broad and ambiguous. None of these issues have been resolved despite the long delay. For example, the law could be used to imprison individuals who download content from any free peer-to-peer service such as Kazaa. A U.K. Patent Office spokesman said that the law is really intended to target organised crime that sells pirated copyright works but individual downloader's would still be subject to civil penalties and/or damages but not prison term or fines.
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The law, known as the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003, was drafted by the U.K.'s Patent Office. It is modeled on the controversial European Union Copyright Directive, broad legislation designed to protect content makers from the growing phenomenon of digital piracy that has ravaged media and software companies. The United Kingdom joins Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece and Italy in ratifying the legislation whose deadline for adoption passed 10 months ago. It remains in limbo in the other nine EU member states, according to legal experts following the directive. "It's unfortunate, but at least it's moving forward," Francisco Mingorance, director of public policy for software trade body the Business Software Alliance, said of the delays. Consumer protection groups, legal experts and industry executives differ on how to stop piracy while preserving consumer rights in an era in which all manner of protected works are just a mouse click away. Content makers have sought harsh penalties for downloading copyrighted materials from Internet file-sharing networks such as Kazaa or for burning songs onto blank compact discs, saying it is a form of theft. Fair use In some countries, including Germany, consumers are permitted to make backup copies of a purchased CD, for example. In the United Kingdom, however, no such fair-use provision exists. The EU directive failed to get member countries to agree on a single set of fair-use exceptions, setting the stage for a mishmash of laws governing how consumers can store and play media and software on their PCs or other digital devices. |
It looks like this would put an end to DVD-ripping software from being hosted in the UK. Afterdawn which is hosted in Britain had previously announced that it would remove all DVD decryption software from its website once this law would come into effect. While many claim that this to be a severe law, it does not appear to affect free speech as with the German implementation of the EUCD.
Source: CNET News
