Using iTunes in the UK is now practically ILLEGAL: Copying music from your CD collection now violates copyright law

• High Court's ruled copying music from a CD or backing it up is illegal
• In October 2014, the UK introduced a law letting individuals make personal copies of songs for personal use but this has seemingly been reversed 
• Means that services such as iTunes and part of Apple Music are illegal 
• A BIS spokesman told MailOnline ‘The Government is considering the implications of the court rulings and the available options'

iTunes may be out of vogue with users who prefer streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify.

But it’s now practically illegal to use the service in the UK.

The High Court has ruled that copying music from a personal CD collection to iTunes violates copyright law.

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iTunes (pictured) may be out of vogue with many users preferring streaming services such as Apple Music and Spotify. But now it’s practically illegal to use the service in the UK

The same is true for backing up your music to an external hard drive or copying it to the cloud.

The Intellectual Property Office told MailOnline that copying music or other copyright works from one format to another without a license granted by the rightsholder now infringes copyright and is breaking the law.

In October 2014, the UK introduced a law letting individuals make personal copies of songs for personal use, but the new regulation was short-lived.

After pressure from the music industry fearing loss of income and much legal to-ing and fro-ing, a Judicial Review found in June that this exception was unlawful.

On July 17 a further judgement was issued and previous rules were reinstated. 

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The High Court has ruled that copying music from a personal CD collection (stok image) to iTunes violates copyright law. The same is true for backing your music to an external hard drive or copying it to the cloud

THE EFFECTS OF THE RULE CHANGE

It's now illegal to make private copies of copyrighted works you own without permission from the copyright holder.

This means that copying a CD to an MP3 player using a service like iTunes is not allowed.

Copying a song and storing it on an external hard drive or in the cloud is also banned.

The same applies to copyrighted videos and images.

By promoting iTunes' ripping feature, Apple could be seen to be facilitating copyright infringement and could face significant claims for damages, TorrentFreak reported. 

The UK government hasn’t decided whether to propose revised private copyrighting exceptions in the future.

It's reportedly said that people shouldn’t be too worried about the law change.

The IPO said: 'The Government is not aware of any cases of copyright holders having prosecuted individuals for format shifting music solely for their own personal use,” the IPO spokesperson says.'

This means other services including Apple Music may be illegal too, MacWorld reported.

MailOnline has contacted Apple for comment.

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) spokesman said: ‘The Government is considering the implications of the court rulings and the available options.’

Before October 2014 it was illegal for people to make personal copies of music they owned.

The legislation that was passed aimed to boost the UK's economy by up to £8 billion in offering new music and video services.

Before it was passed, Vince Cable, the then Business Secretary, said the move would bring copyright law into line with the 'real world' and with 'consumers' reasonable expectations'

Philip Woods, director of online Apple retailer KRCS Group told MailOnline: ‘The personal copies for private use legislation from 2014 seemed long overdue when it was published, but at the same time almost irrelevant because it was already lagging behind the ever changing behaviours of music consumption in the UK.

‘Consumers have been using iTunes and other similar programs for nearly 15 years to take personal copies of their CD collection, and that behaviour is declining.’

He explained that the Musicians’ Union took legal action because there was no element of compensation for artists had been written into the UK law, which is ‘present in similar legislation from other countries in Europe. 

'...the theory being that devices like iPod nano are so reliant on copy-written music sources and the process of ripping them using iTunes that the creators of that music should be entitled to a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the device. 

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In October 2014, the UK introduced a law letting individuals make copies of songs for personal use. However, after pressure from the music industry a Judicial Review found in June that this exception was unlawful and on July 17, a further judgement was issued. It may mean that part of Apple Music (pictured) is also illegal

‘Common sense would suggest that the Musicians’ Union has a very fair point, and concerns that compensation paid by hardware manufacturers would adversely affect the price of devices in the UK is largely unfounded…but it’s hard to avoid the reality that ripping CDs in iTunes is a dying practice, and for those still determined to do it this legislation has never been relevant.

Mr Woods believes it would be a better use of time for all parties involved to work on legislation to improve and standardise compensation paid by the likes of Apple and Spotify for their streaming services, which he says ‘are surely going to dominate the consumption of music over the next 15 years’. 

The government reassured TorrentFreak that people shouldn’t be too concerned about the rule change because copyright holders are not known to come after people who back-up material on their computers.

'The Government is not aware of any cases of copyright holders having prosecuted individuals for format shifting music solely for their own personal use,' an IPO spokesman said.

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Philip Woods said: 'Consumers have been using iTunes and other similar programs for nearly 15 years to take personal copies of their CD collection, and that behaviour is declining.’ A stock image of woman is shown here listening to music on her iPhone