LONDON, (Reuters) – Britain’s 300-year-old copyright laws look set for a shake-up after the government welcomed proposals to put the country on a par with international competitors.
Key recommendations of the Digital Opportunity review included the legalisation of format shifting – copying CDs or DVDs on to digital music players or computers for personal use – which is already legal in all European countries bar Britain, Ireland and Malta.
Ministers and business groups also backed the introduction of a central Digital Copyright Exchange where licences in copyright could be bought and sold, helping simplify the way businesses purchase rights to material.
The review said existing laws stifled innovation amd prevented the copying basic to many industrial processes and Internet-based services.
