The regulations in the copyright law aim at balancing the interests of the copyright holders and the individual’s wish of copying these works for private use. In recent years the development of digital technology has made it possible to copy works to a much larger extent than before and with the same quality as that of the original. Music, films and other works have been illegally copied and uploaded to the Internet to make downloading possible for individuals. This has undermined the copyright holders’ profits. In Proposition No. 46 (2004-2005) to the Odelsting, the Ministry of Cultural and Church Affairs furthered a proposal for amendments to the copyright law on February 11, 2005 in order to bring Norwegian legislation into conformity with the EC Copyright Directive.

 

It is still allowed to copy works for private use, but it is a requirement that you only copy works that have been legally uploaded to the Internet. If you are aware that music or films have been illegally uploaded to the Internet, copying for private use will not be allowed. The ban will be linked to whether or not you knew or ought to have known that the work in question had been uploaded without the consent of the copyright holder or that the material had been made available through file sharing services without such consent. You may still let other people make copies for you for private use, but in the proposal this circle of helpers has been limited to include family and friends only.

 

You will still be able to listen to music or watch films that have been illegally uploaded to the Internet even if you are aware of this. It is only the act of downloading it that makes you a criminal.

 

In addition it will be illegal to remove or modify copy protections or digital rights management (DRM). This is interpreted in a very restricted manner to ensure that only the systems that control copyright holders’ exclusive rights will be comprised by this. Regional coding of DVDs will not be affected and as a result it is still allowed to use region free DVDs etc.

 

As a main rule circumvention of copy protections is illegal. However, it will be allowed to circumvent copy protections if it is necessary for private use on relevant equipment. If it is necessary to circumvent the copy protection in order to play a CD on a car stereo this will be allowed as every CD player is a relevant playback unit for a CD. However, the copy protection may not be circumvented in order to change the format to MP3 as an MP3 player is not considered relevant for a CD according to the proposal. Circumvention of copy protection will only be allowed for playback, while circumvention aimed at copying will primarily not be allowed. However, it will be allowed to copy a CD if this is necessary in order to be able to play it on a car stereo. According to the proposal it will also be illegal to sell or in any other way distribute equipment or tools that may be used to circumvent copy protection.

 

At present copy protection is only used for approximately a third of the available CDs in popular music. It is presumed that copy protection more or less will disappear when the above-mentioned legislation comes into effect. In addition the proposal contains rules to ensure that copyright holders are entitled to a reasonable compensation for copying for private use and this compensation system is suggested in the government budget for 2005. When copyright holders receive this type of compensation it is assumed that they will refrain from using copy protection.

 

The proposal also covers access to easier authorization for use of copyrighted works and for extended use of such material in digital form for teaching, broadcasting, for use in libraries etc. and for the disabled.

 

In the proposal performing artists and producers are given exclusive rights to the use of their works on the same level that applies to copyright holders today. Through the new rules they will be able to decide for themselves whether or not their recordings are to be made available via networks.

 

It will also be easier for the heirs of copyright holders to make a majority decision regarding the right to use the work. Today, a unanimous vote is required when several heirs have joint control of a copyrighted work.