An announcement today will make it legal to copy music and films for individual and personal use. However, sharing with others will still not be allowed.
Consumers have long been frustrated at not being able to copy items from one device to another despite having legitimately buying and paying for the intellectual property. The Business Secretary Vince Cable felt that making these changes made business and common sense.He said,“Bringing the law into line with ordinary people’s reasonable expectations will boost respect for copyright, on which our creative industries rely.”On the other side of the debate, musicians and song writers argue that this will have a negative impact on them. They argue that some kind of compensation needs to be considered as is seen in other European countries, such as a levy on blank CDs.The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.Setfords Solicitors are a national full service law firm, with intellectual property Solicitors in Birmingham and across the country.