Photo Credit: Ian Waldie / Getty Images
iTunes has now effectively become illegal in the UK, after the Intellectual Property Office deemed that ripping a CD to Apple’s media player was unlawful with a legislation that made copying for private use legal now being overturned.
The ludicrous new law also means that backing up your computer by methods such as transferring data to a new hard drive is now illegal, too, given that it still involves the same copying and transferring of music from one destination to another.
Speaking to TorrentFreak, a spokesperson for the IPO said: “It is now unlawful to make private copies of copyright works you own, without permission from the copyright holder – this includes format shifting from one medium to another.”
With CD-ripping being a prominent feature of iTunes, and one that Apple promotes within the service itself, this could mean that the tech giant will face significant fines and become vulnerable to lawsuits in the near future. With many of iTunes’ key features having now been deemed unlawful due to this change in legislation, it remains to be seen where the High Court’s and Apple’s next steps will lead them, though the government have already reportedly stated that they aren’t a fan of the new laws, though have yet to discuss any new policies that will combat them.
However, this decision doesn’t solely affect iTunes: other services such as Apple Music and Time Machine are also directly impacted by this new ruling due to them also encouraging CD-ripping, essentially making this new legislation doubly frustrating for Apple.
There have been no reported instances of an individual being prosecuted for ripping a CD or transferring their own music for personal use, but this new ruling isn’t about targeting the listener, with it instead aimed towards Apple. Though copyright holders can now legally take action against those found “guilty” of transferring their own CD that they paid for to iTunes, this new ruling is seemingly intended to force the hand of Apple into making changes into how its iTunes service operates.
While it would seem ludicrous that Apple would have to change its iTunes and Apple Music features in order to accommodate for this new copyright law, if it remains in place and is unopposed by the government, they may have no other choice.
