Audio And The Law Creative Computers Rachel Hodgkinson

Is It Legal?  There is much downloading of music from the Internet these days but for the most part if it’s free...it’s illegal!

Exceptions There are a few exceptions which are covered by Section 107 of the Fair Use Provision of the Copyright Act. These include:  Comment  Criticism  News  Reporting  Teaching  Scholarship  Research

Legal Downloading  There are now a growing number of websites that you can download from without breaking the bank.  Some ask you to pay a small subscription  Others offer a pay per download

Some Examples  iTunes  Napster  MyCokeMusic  eMusic  Amazon  Yahoo!  Playlouder  7 Digital  Big Noise Music  HMV  Sonic Selector  MSN Music Others allow you to download music and raise money for charity at the same time such as War Child.

Some websites are set up to help you find the best download sites, for example:  

Downloading Dangers!  Viruses disguised as digital music  Security compromise – your computer becomes a server  Sneaky tracking software

Copying Audio CDs Officially still banned in this country

Changes To UK Law? The UK's main recording industry body wants to authorise UK music buyers to copy CDs for personal use. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) has recommended to a Government investigation that a private right to copy be created. OUT-LAW News, 09/11/2006

Current Situation The Government will launch a public consultation this autumn on an exemption from copyright law for people who are moving music on to MP3 players. 2008

Gowers Report Many users in particular are not aware of what the law actually says and, of those who are, many simply do not care," said the Government response. "We therefore believe that the recommendation which the Gowers report made, to introduce a limited format-shifting exception applicable only for personal use, will help improve the position."

Happy Listening!