British private copy legalization law is delayed

The British government says it wants to amend the legislation in such a way that residents of the United Kingdom can now legally make copies of CDs, DVDs and MP3s for their own use. The law should have been changed last month, but it hasn’t happened yet.

Plans for an amendment to copyright law, allowing a Briton to make a private copy of content in his possession, was announced at the end of December 2012. In March of this year, the British government even launched a public campaign explaining the rules of the game regarding this ‘fair use’. Initially, the new rules should come into effect last month, but TorrentFreak reports that the necessary changes to the legislation have still not been approved by parliament.

There is no clear reason for the delays in the process, but objections from media companies against the change may have played a role. The issue has recently been discussed in the British Parliament and a majority is still in favor of amending the law. According to many politicians, British copyright law is outdated and it is unreasonable to continue to ban something that happens on a large scale and is seen as a right by most people.