Comments on: Fair use of ripped CDs, and charity shops http://www.qwghlm.co.uk/2005/07/27/fair-use-of-ripped-cds-and-charity-shops/ Because all the other domain names were taken Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:53:48 +0000 hourly 1 By: Adam Sampson http://www.qwghlm.co.uk/2005/07/27/fair-use-of-ripped-cds-and-charity-shops/comment-page-1/#comment-1252 Adam Sampson Wed, 27 Jul 2005 21:45:51 +0000 http://www.qwghlm.co.uk/blog/?p=736#comment-1252 Have a look at the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents act; it's illegal to rip your CDs in the first place in the UK, since we don't have a concept of fair use (we do have "fair dealing", but it doesn't cover that). The ethics of doing so -- and the ethics of doing so and then selling the CDs again, or getting a charity to do so -- are entirely up to you, of course. Personally I'd rather the artists got paid once for each person/family with copies, so I wouldn't donate ripped CDs to charity. Of course, it's possible that Oxfam just meant "if you're now buying new music online, then give us the CDs you no longer listen to", but I suspect your interpretation's correctly... Have a look at the 1988 Copyright, Designs and Patents act; it’s illegal to rip your CDs in the first place in the UK, since we don’t have a concept of fair use (we do have “fair dealing”, but it doesn’t cover that). The ethics of doing so — and the ethics of doing so and then selling the CDs again, or getting a charity to do so — are entirely up to you, of course. Personally I’d rather the artists got paid once for each person/family with copies, so I wouldn’t donate ripped CDs to charity.

Of course, it’s possible that Oxfam just meant “if you’re now buying new music online, then give us the CDs you no longer listen to”, but I suspect your interpretation’s correctly…

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