UK copyright laws to be freed up and parody laws relaxed; Guardian, 12/20/12

Mark Sweney, Guardian; UK copyright laws to be freed up and parody laws relaxed: "The government is to scrap an archaic law that makes it illegal for music fans to download a legally-purchased CD onto a laptop, smartphone or MP3 player, and has rejected calls from record companies for a tax to cover lost sales as a result. Vince Cable, the business secretary, unveiled the plans on Thursday in a 52-page report detailing a freeing up of the UK's intellectual property and copyright laws. Cable, responding to the Hargreaves report on the future of intellectual property published last year, proposed changes including making "format shifting" legal and relaxing parody laws to allow comedians, broadcasters and other content creators more scope."