Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice Advance Access published online on January 14, 2008
Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice, doi:10.1093/jiplp/jpm229
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© The Author (2007). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved
Does private copying need an update in the UK?
Legal context: Most European legal systems have limited the ‘exclusive’ reproduction right of authors in their works to enable users to copy, for private purposes and without the authorization of the authors, legally acquired protected material. In exchange, authors receive compensation for their loss of control of their creations. The UK Copyright Act does not generally permit private copying, but it does exempt a few acts from the exclusive rights awarded to authors through copyright.
Key points: The article examines the limitations to the reproduction right provided by IP law in the UK, such as time-shifting, in the light of relevant case law—GEMA (1964), Sony v Universal Studios (1984)—the European Copyright Directive and a European sector inquiry. Many countries have established levies on copying-friendly media where their proceeds are distributed to authors as compensation. This article argues for the need to reform the IP law in the UK, arguing that time-shifting and other reproduction acts authorized by the statute are private copying in disguise. The paper only considers legal private copying, which should not be mistaken with piracy or file-sharing in P2P networks.
Practical significance: Copying another's works in the privacy of one's home has become increasingly popular on account of the fast-developing pace of technology and its supporting platform: the internet. Although levies have often been imposed on physical media (CDs, CDRs), new technologies such as MP3 and MP4 players and USB flash drives are often exempted, despite their widespread use as tools for private copying. The private copying trend is bringing greater benefits to the users than to the creators of protected works who understandably would like to obtain a share of the overall profits.
Key Words: Private copying of copyright works infringes the right of exclusive reproduction unless either that right does not go so far as to include acts of that nature or a defence is provided to an act of infringement in respect of such acts. • Although each act of private copying may be economically insignificant, the cumulative effect of such activity is great and raises the question as to whether the copyright owner is entitled to some recompense for the effect of such copying on his expectation of securing remuneration for the use of his copyright. • This article reviews, with special reference to the experience of the European Union and the USA, the manner in which issues arising from private copying have been resolved, then focuses on the ambivalence of UK law.
* Lawyer, specialized in Copyright and ICT Law, working with Norwaco, the Norwegian managing organization for audiovisual works.