A 32-year-old law keeps South African music fans tied to a technology that is rapidly becoming obsolete.
The Copyright Act, which dates back to 1978, makes it an offence for people to shift the format of their music from CDs to digital.
This creates a problem, as several international audio equipment manufacturers, such as Linn, have already stopped making CD players.
The result is that people could end up paying twice for their music collection, in the same way that LPs and videos were replaced by newer formats when CDs and DVDs hit the scene.
Lance Michalson, a partner with Michalsons Attorneys, says: “Most people will probably be amazed, and even angry, to learn they cannot 'consume' music they legitimately bought, in any fashion they see fit, but it is the law – even if it is ultimately an outdated and somewhat silly law.”
Criminal listeners
Michalson explains that people who rip their entire CD collection on to a computer to listen to tracks on their iPod have clearly broken the law. They could face a fine of up to R10 000 or five years in jail for each item ripped from CD to a digital format, he notes.
However, he says, the “courts are clogged up with far more serious criminal matters and it is questionable whether the legal system would be able to cope with every South African who has ever made an illegal copy of their music being charged”.
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