UK Govt: DVD and CD Ripping Will Be Legalized
#1
Finally a bit of common sense comes to the UK.

FTA:

Quote: U.K. government will finally legalize the copying of data from CDs, DVDs, and other types of media for personal use. This will allow U.K. citizens to legally make backups and digital copies of their media, which has been forbidden by copyright law previously. The changes will go into effect this June. It also grants permission for people to upload the ripped media to a remote host, though sharing of course remains illegal.

http://torrentfreak.com/uk-dvd-cd-rippin...er-140328/
http://news.slashdot.org/story/14/03/29/...s-and-dvds
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#2
Well, apart from the fact that we've all been doing it since the dinosaurs roamed the earth, but I seem to recall that the copyright holders - music companies, basically - declared some time ago that they wouldn't pursue "format shifters". When a law gets flouted that much, and the people it's meant to defend give up, then it's probably time to let it go... but I agree that it's still long overdue. You haven't seen the worst of the laws we have on the books, though... that's the problem with an old country that's built on case/common law.

It'll be back. We've had this debate with cassette tapes, VCRs, MP3 ripping... with all the DRM built into streaming/cloud/similar, that'll be the next one. That and DRM in broadcast streams so you can't skip the adverts.
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#3
Yes, but is breaking the drm legal in the UK?
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#4
(2014-03-30, 04:33)ertman Wrote: Yes, but is breaking the drm legal in the UK?

Evidently unlike the UK, format shifting has always been legal in the US. The problem has been and continues to be that breaking DRM is not, so effectively ripping CDs is fine, but ripping Blurays and DVDs is not.
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#5
Well if they're going to legalize format shifting the DRM needs to be removed. I do that for ALL my iTunes TV purchases so I can watch them on XBMC and add them to my library. I also do the same for my DVD, CD and Blu-Ray collection.
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#6
From my simplistic understanding, it's illegal to profit from defeating copy-protection, but it isn't illegal to defeat it per se. So the manufacture, sale, etc. of equipment whose sole purpose is to remove DRM would be an offence under http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1988...tion/296ZB

Quote:(1)A person commits an offence if he—

(a)manufactures for sale or hire, or

(b)imports otherwise than for his private and domestic use, or

©in the course of a business—

(i)sells or lets for hire, or

(ii)offers or exposes for sale or hire, or

(iii)advertises for sale or hire, or

(iv)possesses, or

(v)distributes, or

(d)distributes otherwise than in the course of a business to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the copyright owner,

any device, product or component which is primarily designed, produced, or adapted for the purpose of enabling or facilitating the circumvention of effective technological measures.

(2)A person commits an offence if he provides, promotes, advertises or markets—

(a)in the course of a business, or

(b)otherwise than in the course of a business to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the copyright owner,

a service the purpose of which is to enable or facilitate the circumvention of effective technological measures.

Section 1.d is what gets the torrent-ers ('distributes ... to such an extent as to affect prejudicially the copyright owner'). Otherwise, defeating DRM is fine, although the underlying copyright infringement isn't - and that's presumably what's going to be changed.

Tying this to another thread, I see that as making DVDFab and friends perfectly legal if you're importing it for private use, not profiting from your activities and not prejudicing the copyright owner.

That said, this is an extract from one act, and it's always dangerous to read legal text without the full context, so don't quote me on this, IANAL, E&OE, YMMV, etc.
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#7
(2014-03-30, 04:59)natethomas Wrote:
(2014-03-30, 04:33)ertman Wrote: Yes, but is breaking the drm legal in the UK?

Evidently unlike the UK, format shifting has always been legal in the US. The problem has been and continues to be that breaking DRM is not, so effectively ripping CDs is fine, but ripping Blurays and DVDs is not.

Drm breaking is illegal in the US.
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