Unless you’re are a bit of a geek or are directly affected by copyright legislation, you probably weren’t concerned that the government is changing the copyright law. However, if you have a teenager who enjoys downloading music you may be interested in the legislation.

The first change proposed, is that consumers will now be allowed to change the format of the music (or video) that they have legally purchased. This means that if you (or your teenager) purchase a CD you will be allowed to transfer the music on to your personal MP3 player or your computer for your personal use. These changes will also permit you to legally tape and time shift TV programs that you want to watch. (Currently, it is actually illegal to do time shift programs.)

Other changes include exemptions in copyright legislation for educational institutions and research institutions, so that they are not caught by copyright law prohibitions targeting commercial producers.

Finally, it may relieve you to know that we are lowering the statutory damages that an individual will face if they illegally download copyright material (from $20,000 per infringement to $500 per individual). What this means is that if your teenager does do something wrong, he will face a reasonable punishment that he can pay for himself with some after school jobs. (Commercial operations which steal and resell copyright material as a business will face stiff punishments, however.)

The changes to the Copyright Act aim to give individuals flexibility for personal use, while protecting artists, authors, and writers from businesses that aim to steal their work for resale. I think the proposed changes meet these goals.