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CD Ripper 'Incites Law Breaking,' Says British Regulator
Barence writes "A British firm has been banned from advertising a CD ripping device because it 'incites law breaking.' The Brennan JB7 is 'a CD player with a hard disk that stores up to 5,000 CDs.' The adverts for the Brennan highlight the convenience of ripping your entire CD collection to the device – much like we've all been doing for years on our PCs, iPods and other MP3 players. The Advertising Standards Authority has banned the ads after concluding 'that the ad misleadingly implied it was acceptable to copy CDs, vinyl and cassettes without the permission of the copyright owner.'"
implied it was acceptable to copy CDs, vinyl and cassettes without the permission of the copyright owner
That's because it is. Personal copies are very acceptable.
Wait wait, "format shifting" is illegal in the UK? That's messed up.
Not really. Helps nail someone who you can't get for any other crime.
The product hasn't been banned. The wording of an advertisement has. The ASA ruling specifically addressed your point, however concluded that "the overall impression of the ad was such that it encouraged consumers and businesses to copy CDs, vinyl and cassettes" (my emphasis).
Computers aren't advertised to do the things you mention.
Frankly I suspect the ASA wouldn't give a damn except that there was a complaint which was technically correct by their own rules.
The product hasn't been banned. The wording of an advertisement has. The ASA ruling specifically addressed your point, however concluded that "the overall impression of the ad was such that it encouraged consumers and businesses to copy CDs, vinyl and cassettes" (my emphasis).
Computers aren't advertised to do the things you mention.
"Rip. Mix. Burn. " ???
If Slashdot were chemistry it would look like this:Cadaverine
They haven't banned the product, just the advertising. Not to imply this is a good decision, by any means, but a decision by the ASA is very different to an outright product ban.
From the act (which is very long and detailed - and doesn't make any reference to "format shifting"):
"16 The acts restricted by copyright in a work.
(1) The owner of the copyright in a work has, in accordance with the following provisions of this Chapter, the exclusive right to do the following acts in the United Kingdom—
(a) to copy the work (see section 17);
[...]
17 Infringement of copyright by copying.
(1) The copying of the work is an act restricted by the copyright in every description of copyright work; and references in this Part to copying and copies shall be construed as follows.
(2) Copying in relation to a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work means reproducing the work in any material form.
This includes storing the work in any medium by electronic means.
[...]
(6) Copying in relation to any description of work includes the making of copies which are transient or are incidental to some other use of the work"
And, sadly, since moving a file to a different medium/device requires making a copy...