Fair use of copyright material comes to the UK

The Department for Business Innovation & Skills has released a measure intended to “create greater freedom to use copyright works”.    Base on the Hargreaves Review, released in May of 2011, the new provisions allow for individuals to make copies of movies, music, games and other types of copyright protected materials as long as the copies are made for their own individual use, and not shared or distributed.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable said:

“Making the intellectual property framework fit for the 21st century is not only common sense but good business sense. Bringing the law into line with ordinary people’s reasonable expectations will boost respect for copyright, on which our creative industries rely.

“We feel we have struck the right balance between improving the way consumers benefit from copyright works they have legitimately paid for, boosting business opportunities and protecting the rights of creators.”

And more exceptions will be in place for archives, parody, research, education and access for those with disabilities.

Once the regulations go into effect, citizens of the UK will at long last be able to rip their cds and dvds legally.  What a relief they must be feeling.

There is no mention in the proposed measure regarding removal of encryption, or DRM placed on various types of downloaded material.  But many of the forms of digital media specifically mentioned cannot be copied without decryption, so removal of the encryption is at least implied in these regulations.  I wonder how this will affect the sale of decryption tools in the UK?

You can find the statement from the Dept. for Business, Innovation and Skills here.

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