Copyright laws under review
Sydney Morning Herald (subscription) - New South Wales,Australia

For years millions of Australians have been routinely programming their VCRs to record a program or copying a CD on to their MP3 player.

Soon it could be legal.

The federal Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, is considering allowing consumers to freely copy films, music and photographs from one medium to another, as long as they have paid for them and the material is solely for private use.

The prospect of a "fair use" clause moved a step closer yesterday when the Federal Government announced a wide-ranging review of copyright laws.

"There's a reasonable argument for putting forward the opinion that when someone has bought something in one format and has acquired the copyright for it in that particular format then there is a fair use for them to take it to another format. I think it's a strong argument," Mr Ruddock told the Herald.

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