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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.
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.
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.