Want to copy music from CD to iPod? You could be breaking UK law, again

UK legislation on personal copying of music is under judicial review REUTERS/Robert Galbraith

Music lovers that transfer tracks from CDs to their iPod, iTunes or other storage media are once again at risk of prosecution following a recent UK high court ruling.

Music organisations Musician's Union, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors, and UK Music have won a high court battle seeking a judicial review of the law pertaining to private copying of music for personal use.

The groups argued that there should be a tax on blank media and the money should be shared between rights holders, which is the case in some other European countries.

The move comes just a year after the UK Government legalised such copying, saying that it would be "in the best interest" of consumers and would cause zero or insignificant harm to the music industry, making compensation unnecessary.

The changes came into force last October under the Copyright and Rights in Performances (Personal Copies for Private Use) Regulations 2014.

But the High Court has since ruled for a judicial review of the legislation, saying that there was insufficient evidence provided by the government to support their claims, and that it may unlawfully harm the music industry through lack of compensation for private copying.

UK Music estimates that without a compensation scheme, the creative sector stands to lose up to £58m (€80.8m, $91.8m) a year in revenues for rights owners.

"The High Court agreed with us that Government acted unlawfully, Jo Dipple, CEO of UK Music, told Torrent Freak. "It is vitally important that fairness for songwriters, composers and performers is written into the law.

She added: "Changes to copyright law that affect such a vital part of the creative economy, which supports one in twelve jobs, must only be introduced if there is a robust evidential basis for doing so."

Although the ruling means that the UK government have to re-evaluate its stance on private copying, the music groups said they remain open to discuss ways to resolve the issue.