Highland Council has no blanket licence agreement for downloading music from the internet. Therefore schools must abide by existing copyright rules summarised below.

• It is illegal to download music from the internet without permission from the rights holder, usually the record company.

• Filesharing or P2P (i.e. sharing digital music files over the internet without permission of the rights holders) is illegal.

• Similarly it is illegal to make copies of music CD’s DVD’s records or tapes without permission, even if you have purchased them legally.

• In the UK sound recordings are protected for 50 years by copyright law. It is likely that in the future performers’ rights will be extended to 70 years. US sound recordings are protected for 95 years

• There is no problem in downloading music for a fee from the increasing number of legal sites available. See http://www.pro-music.org

For the latest information on downloading music check the British Phonographic Industry website at http://www.bpi.co.uk/index.asp