[Ecommerce] Industries lobby EU Commission to cut copyright fees

[Michelle Childs]

Details of the EU Commissions current consultation on copyright levies
have been posted before. However the article below is a helpful summary of
how the system works now and why some are opposed to it.
Michelle


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/07/04/industries_propose_copyright_fee_sl=
ash/
Industries lobby EU Commission to cut copyright fees
But proposal 'may have a bumpy ride'
By Bob McDowall, Published Tuesday 4th July 2006 09:53

At the same time as the EU Commission has launched a consultation paper
with proposals to reform current copyright levies, the IT,
telecommunications, electronics and digital industry associations have
launched the Copyright Levies Reform Alliance (CLRA), campaigning for
urgent reform of copyright levies.

Copyright levies operate in all EU states, including the accession states,
other than the UK, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and Cyprus. The UK, Ireland
and Malta only permit copying/recording broadcasts for home consumption.
Luxembourg permits private copying. The legal position in Cyprus is
unclear, and the USA allows certain private copying but does not impose
such levies.

 In the 1960s, EU Member States began imposing levies on the price of
copying equipment before the advent of copy protection technology to
compensate copyright owners for the lost royalties from private copying
of music, movies, text and images.

They were charged on the prevailing technology of the time - blank audio
and video cassettes, photocopiers and tape recorders. Now digital devices
are the principal mechanism for copying and EU States operate national
copyright levy regimes.

Some EU States impose a levy on the purchase price of equipment and
accessories as diverse as CD recorders, MP3 players, blank CDs and mobile
phones. Some impose the levy on the media only. Some impose the levy on
both equipment and the media. These levies are not paid to the copyright
holders but are collected by national collecting agencies (ICTs), which
variously provide management services to copyright holders or only
administer copyright levies. These services are provided both to domestic
copyright holders and those in other EU States. The services are and
subject variously to the usual oversight ("interference") by National
State bodies.

Needless to say, the ICTs deduct fees for their services before any
copyright fee reaches the holder. The fee structures vary. Some are
negotiated with artistic bodies and some allocate a portion or all of the
funds to social funds for the benefit of authors or performing artists.

The issue has attracted attention because it is alleged the copyright fees
across the EU states have risen from =A3341m (US$628m) in 2001 to =A3820m
(US$1.5bn) in 2005, though some estimates are lower than this.

iPods, mobile phones, and DVDs contribute substantially to these fee
rises. Equally, these levies increase by as much as 50 per cent the cost
of modern electronic equipment in EU States operating copyright levies.

The chief objections are:

This is a multiple payment scenario where consumers pay for permission to
copy at the time of download, and are charged again in the purchase of
devices used to play the content.
Levies are also charged on scanners and printers and other devices at
disproportionate rates to the cost of the equipment.
The European Commission, in its consultation paper, is not seeking to
abolish the levies. Rather, it is proposing that ICTs should ensure that
copyright levies are calculated using objective criteria as well as
ensuring that the products subject to levies are used for copying and the
extent to which this actually occurs.

"Copyright levies on digital products are an outdated form of taxation
that penalises consumers, artists and industry alike," and "European
lawmakers have an obligation to bring real benefits by establishing
efficiency and transparency in the collection of levies while phasing out
the levies system."

However, this proposal may have a very bumpy ride. The levies provide
substantial built-in subsidies to arts and culture in many of the EU
states, as they are frequently channelled via national, social and
cultural funds. Taxes, probably more transparent in application, would
have to be substituted for the reduction in these levies. This would be
"politically unpalatable in some of the major EU States".

Copyright =A9 2006, IT-Analysis.com


--
Michelle Childs -Head of European Affairs
Consumer Project on Technology in London
24, Highbury Crescent, London, N5 1RX,UK.
Tel:+44(0)207 226 6663 ex 252.
Mob:+44(0)790 386 4642. Fax: +44(0)207 354 0607
http://www.cptech.org

Consumer Project on Technology in Washington, DC
1621 Connecticut Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20009 USA .Tel.:
+1.202.332.2670,Fax: +1.202.332.2673

Consumer Project on Technology in Geneva
1 Route des  Morillons, CP 2100, 1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 791 6727