Digital Economy Bill Approved by UK House of Lords
Copyright Society seminar: All change for the Digital Economy? Some observations from the history of copyright
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Q&As on time-shifting: recording from TV to watch later
This information is for general guidance only; it is not legal advice.
First read:
copyright basics webpage
Time-shifting: recording from TV and radio for private use webpage
- TV programs: home-taping information sheet
| question | date | answer | more | QA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Can I record from TV or radio at work? | 19/12/2006 | The time-shift exception allows you to record from TV or radio anywhere, provided you are making the recording to watch at a more convenient time in a private and domestic context. | QA0275 | |
| Do I have to watch or listen to the recording at home? | 19/12/2006 | No. You can watch or listen to the recording at home, or you watch or listen to it privately outside the home (for example, on a portable device such as an iPod). | QA0276 | |
| Can other people watch or listen to the recording with me? | 19/12/2006 | Yes. You can watch the recording with other people who live in your house. | QA0277 | |
| Can I record from TV or radio for other people? | 19/12/2006 | The legislation is not clear, but it seems that you can record from TV and radio for members of your household or your family to watch at a more convenient time. You are entitled to lend the recording to members of your household or family, but it seems that you are not entitled to give it to them. | QA0278 | |
| Can I record programs that I’m watching or listening to so that I can enjoy them again later? | 19/12/2006 | No. You can only record programs that you are not watching or listening to. This is because the time-shift exception says that you can only make the recording in order to watch it or listen to it “at a time more convenient than the time when the broadcast is made”. | QA0279 | |
| How long can I keep copies made under the time-shift exception? | 19/12/2006 | The time-shift exception doesn’t set a limit on how long you can keep a copy of something recorded from radio or TV, and there is no express obligation to destroy the recording after you have watched it. However, your purpose for making the copy must be to watch it at a more convenient time. The government has made the following statement about the intention behind the new provision: Whilst the exception does not require immediate deletion of the television or radio program after watching or listening to it, the exception does not permit a person to record a broadcast and keep it indefinitely in a collection of films or sound recordings for repeated use. | QA0280 | |
| Can I give time-shift copies to my friends? | 19/12/2006 | No; the recording becomes an infringing copy if you do. You can lend (but not give) the recording to members of your family and household. In some cases, the friend who wants to see or listen to the program may be able to legitimately download it from the Internet. The ABC, Channel Nine, BigPond and iTunes, for example, have digital downloads of some programs available. In some cases, the download is free and in some cases it requires payment. | QA0281 | |
| Does the time-shift exception allow me to copy from the internet? | 19/12/2006 | You can rely on the time-shift exception to copy a program that is
being simultaneously broadcast by a radio or TV station both over the
air (or via cable or satellite) and over the internet. You cannot, however, rely on the exception to copy programs available on demand, such as podcasts or vodcasts. For these, check the terms and conditions on the relevant website: these will generally set out what you can do with material that is made available as a digital download or stream. | QA0282 | |
| Where I live, we can receive broadcasts from overseas. Can I copy these under the time-shift exception? | 19/12/2006 | Yes. The time-shift exception allows
you to copy any radio or TV broadcast you can receive in Australia. The exception does not, however, allow you to copy a program while you are travelling overseas. To work out whether or not you can copy from radio or TV while you are overseas, you would need to look at whether or not the relevant country’s copyright laws allow you to do so. | QA0283 |