The association is threatening to take Apple to court if the
fees are not paid – and to date, Apple has refused.
French music copyright holders benefit from legislation that
levies fees on the sales of equipment and hardware that can be used
to copy music – such as blank tapes, CDs and Apple's iPod.
The law, which has been in force since 2002, ensures that the
money raised is then distributed to rights holders who are hit by
music piracy – the musicians and composers.
Such levies do not exist in the UK. The difference is that
French copyright law allows copying for private use – so it is
lawful to copy your own copyright-protected CD to a cassette to
play in your car. Levies on the sale of blank cassettes reflect
this use to which many people put them. In the UK, copyright law
does not permit private copying of CDs to cassette – but nor is
there a levy on sales of blank media.
Sacem said that unless Apple pays up, it "will have no other
option than to go immediately to court to make sure that the rights
of artists, composers and producers are respected," according to
Associated Press.
