Uk Goverment Is Guilty Of File Sharing Music !

Printable View

03-18-2004, 03:51 AM
fight4uright

If you live in the united kingdom you can walk into any Goverment or Local Authority library and Borrow Music CD's/Tapes/Videos Etc (all are copyrighted) and this is a FREE SERVICE to any person on the electoral role.

Now this if i am not mistaken is "MUSIC SHARING" or "FILE SHARING" of Copyrighted material.

So the U.K Goverment is an active member in the "File Sharing" Game" !

So it appears the law is as follows as Regaurds to "Music Sharing in U.K"

You must be over 18 and be on the Electoral Role to download Music files if they are copyright protected.

OR

Is the United kingdoms Goverment & Local Authoritys Breaking International Copyright Law ?

Will the RIAA persue a Claim against the United Kingdom & its Governing bodies for this "Infringment".

WHATS YOU THOUGHTS ON THIS "GREY AREA"

IS IT LEGAL IN UK or IS UK GOVERMENT VIOLATING LAW ?

Please post your thoughts , as i am very much unsure about this one and think perhaps our Goverment is saying it is not illegal in the U.K ?
03-18-2004, 04:23 AM
leftism

I think the government pays a fee to the companies who own the rights to the material so no, it's not illegal.
03-18-2004, 08:32 PM
Sparkle1984

Quote:

Originally posted by fight4uright@18 March 2004 - 02:51
If you live in the united kingdom you can walk into any Goverment or Local Authority library and Borrow Music CD's/Tapes/Videos Etc (all are copyrighted) and this is a FREE SERVICE to any person on the electoral role.

Now this if i am not mistaken is "MUSIC SHARING" or "FILE SHARING" of Copyrighted material.

So the U.K Goverment is an active member in the "File Sharing" Game" !

So it appears the law is as follows as Regaurds to "Music Sharing in U.K"

You must be over 18 and be on the Electoral Role to download Music files if they are copyright protected.

OR

Is the United kingdoms Goverment & Local Authoritys Breaking International Copyright Law ?

Will the RIAA persue a Claim against the United Kingdom & its Governing bodies for this "Infringment".

WHATS YOU THOUGHTS ON THIS "GREY AREA"

IS IT LEGAL IN UK or IS UK GOVERMENT VIOLATING LAW ?

Please post your thoughts , as i am very much unsure about this one and think perhaps our Goverment is saying it is not illegal in the U.K ?

I'm not quite sure what you mean, because in my local library, you have to pay a fee to borrow CDs and DVDs. Only books are free to borrow.
And you don't have to be over 18 to be a member of a library either. ;)
03-18-2004, 09:45 PM
downloader2008

It's not really illegal because the people are giving you a LEGAL copy of it to borrow. It's not like they're saying "Borrow this, make a copy, then return it" they're letting you borrow the original copy. In File Sharing, you are creating a COPY of copyrighted material; not borrowing it.
03-18-2004, 10:37 PM
vivitron 15

by the same theory radio stations are breaking the law.

they will pay a fee for each loan they make, as do you to them, and as radio stations pay for each song play.

and i think you do need to be 18 to get music from the library - books from any age, but not music etc, though dont use it much myself
03-18-2004, 10:45 PM
downloader2008

Quote:

Originally posted by vivitron 15@18 March 2004 - 17:37
and i think you do need to be 18 to get music from the library

Not where I live. I rent CDs and DVDs from my local library all the time! B)
03-18-2004, 11:11 PM
vivitron 15

ah, k...wasnt sure, as i say, use video shop/inet
03-31-2004, 05:28 PM
tom_o_t

Hi, just thought I'd add the legal aspect to the speculation... ;)

Contrary to popular belief there is no 'fair usage' law in the UK (unlike the US). Copying music/films (or anything that is copyright) is illegal in almost all circumstances. Even copying a CD that you own onto your computer or MP3 player for personal use is illegal. However it's extremely unlikely that you would ever be prosecuted for this. However there are a few circumstances where this is legal, which include for research, for the purpose of reviewing, criticism or advertising them for sale. Librarians are allowed to copy for non-commercial research and private study.

As far as I can tell lending someone a CD or tape that you own is legal, so long as they don't copy it.

Some useful links-
http://www.out-law.com/php/page.php?page_i...30347&area=news - this outlines the implications in the UK of the implementation of the European Copyright Directive

http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/s...3/20032498.htm - the full legislation for anyone bored enough to wade through it :frusty:
03-31-2004, 08:05 PM
Sparkle1984

Quote:

Even copying a CD that you own onto your computer or MP3 player for personal use is illegal.

In that case, why do UK shops sell mp3 players at all then? What legal use could there be for them?