Format shifting now legal in the UK

[avantman42]

I doubt it makes much practical difference, since many people assumed it was legal anyway, and circumventing DRM isn't allowed. All that said, I'm happy to see this change, because I think it's reasonable to want to format shift, and reasonable activities shouldn't be illegal.

The exception is limited to personal use of lawfully obtained originals, and does not allow any sharing of the works, including with close family members.*It also does not allow for the removal of any anti-copy technical protection measures, including those found on most DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. Given most media consumption is moving to a pure digital environment constrained by such measures, it remains to be seen how effective the new right will be in practice. How many people will be ripping CDs in ten years time?

https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog...ar-last-hurdle

[rkomar]

You can't back up the DVDs with a normal burner that you find in computers, unless you remove the encryption. The encryption keys are stored in a part of the disk that the burners won't allow you to read or write, so just copying the rest of the data to a new disk leaves you with an unplayable copy. You still have to break the law to back up those optical disks. We have the same law here in Canada, and it's just as broken.

[Ninjalawyer]

The anti-circumvention provision is similar to anti-circumvention provisions in U.S. and Canadian legislation, and is just as poorly thought out.

So I can copy a file for my own use, unless the publisher has put a digital lock on it, and then it becomes illegal? Why does a publisher's imposition of a digital lock change my right to make a backup for my own use? I can't distribute the backup in any event. This does, however, serve to highlight how skewed copyright has become in the UK (and Canada, and the U.S.) toward copyrightholders rather than the public (i.e., by allowing the copyrightholder to control your right to do something that most probably don't think of as wrong).

It's even more insane (but not at all surprising) that not only did copyrightholders fight this right, they also tried to demand some form of compensation for letting people have it.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

The anti-circumvention provision is similar to anti-circumvention provisions in U.S. and Canadian legislation, and is just as poorly thought out.

I (and the blog post that I linked in the OP) agree that the anti-circumvention clause is silly. I still think, though, that this is an improvement in UK copyright law. At least now I can legally rip all of my CDs to MP3.

Originally Posted by Ninjalawyer

It's even more insane (but not at all surprising) that not only did copyrightholders fight this right , they also tried to demand some form of compensation for letting people have it.

It's even more ridiculous given that the BPI said that they wouldn't sue anyone for making personal copies back in 2006.

[auspex]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I (and the blog post that I linked in the OP) agree that the anti-circumvention clause is silly. I still think, though, that this is an improvement in UK copyright law. At least now I can legally rip all of my CDs to MP3.

This is MobileREAD: more importantly, you can legally scan your books and make epubs. (Which I believe is also legally the case in Canada, but I'm sure it's untested in the courts).

[Mivo]

Originally Posted by auspex

This is MobileREAD: more importantly, you can legally scan your books and make epubs.

But you still can't legally remove the DRM and convert an ePub to a Mobi/etc (or, as is usually the case, to a "better" ePub"). That's the restriction I would like to see lifted, for personal use, because it "criminalizes" legit customers who wish to use their purchased e-books on different devices.

Making backup copies of copyrighted, but not copy-protected, material for personal use has always been legal here (Germany, and probably in all EU countries).

[Little.Egret]

Note that "Format shifting now legal in the UK " won't be true until October.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by avantman42

I doubt it makes much practical difference, since many people assumed it was legal anyway, and circumventing DRM isn't allowed. All that said, I'm happy to see this change, because I think it's reasonable to want to format shift, and reasonable activities shouldn't be illegal.



https://www.openrightsgroup.org/blog...ar-last-hurdle

Without the right to "format shift" something that is "copy protected" you haven't fixed anything.

[Little.Egret]

Originally Posted by leebase

Without the right to "format shift" something that is "copy protected" you haven't fixed anything.

There is a minor matter that is fixed.

Amazon demands exclusivity for indies using some options of KDP (Kindle Digital Publishing) but allows DRM-free publication.

So you can legally format-shift for a non-Kindle platform.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by Little.Egret

There is a minor matter that is fixed.

Amazon demands exclusivity for indies using some options of KDP (Kindle Digital Publishing) but allows DRM-free publication.

So you can legally format-shift for a non-Kindle platform.

Exactly. It's a small step forward, but it's good to see a step forwards instead of backwards.

I have a Nook, a Kindle, and plenty of DRM-free ePubs and Mobi files. At least now I can legally convert them to use on whichever reader I wish. Plus, I can scan paper books to use on my ereaders. For me, these are useful functions that I would like to be able to do without breaking the law.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by avantman42

Exactly. It's a small step forward, but it's good to see a step forwards instead of backwards.

I have a Nook, a Kindle, and plenty of DRM-free ePubs and Mobi files. At least now I can legally convert them to use on whichever reader I wish. Plus, I can scan paper books to use on my ereaders. For me, these are useful functions that I would like to be able to do without breaking the law.

Does this allow scanning services to be used to scan and digitize paper books for personal use? I highly doubt you would want to spend either the time and or money to do so yourself. Mostly time if you scan individual pages of a book one at a time. Or money to invest into an automated multi page scanner that will scan a whole book by itself. Another thing to consider with the automated approach (you or a scanning service) is the neccesity to destroy the book. Once you cut the binding off, I doubt the book has much resale value if it is even legal to do so.

[avantman42]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Does this allow scanning services to be used to scan and digitize paper books for personal use?

I believe so, but I'm not a lawyer ;-)