In most European countries, though not in the UK, copying of
music for private use is allowed. These countries add a levy to the
cost of items which are likely to be used to make private copies so
that the copyright holder can receive some compensation.
The Commission is consulting with industry so that it can change
the laws around this 'copyright levy' to suit the world of digital
copying. It has warned, though, that applying traditional
principles to digital media could cause consumers to reject any
idea of a copyright levy.
"[In the digital media world] it would no longer be possible to
hold only liable the manufacturers or importers of equipment and
media," said the Commission's consultation document. "The logic of
levies would also have to be applied to broadband and
infrastructure service providers including telecommunications
providers that carry content."
"If this were to happen, levies would proliferate and there
would be a serious risk of a backlash against the rights holder
community and consumer welfare," it said.
Already some nations charge copyright levies on mobile phones
and printers, as well as blank discs and DVD writers. Computers are
also being levied, since they are capable of and used for the
copying of copyrighted material.
The Commission has called for the complex situation to be
clarified and is seeking the opinions of industry, but its
consultation document recognises that it is not an easy task. "The
current system of copyright levies as a means of compensation for
rights holders does not take into account the phenomenon of
convergence," the document says. "Copyright levies were born in the
analogue environment … the distinction currently applied in levy
systems between media, equipment and devices is already outmoded as
it has not been adapted for the advent of the digital
environment."
Most European countries allow private copying but recognise that
rights holders must receive some compensation for that use. The
copyright levy raises money that goes to artist representative
groups. The UK chose instead to outlaw even private use copying, so
no levy exists.
Last week the British Phonographic Industry chairman Peter
Jamieson told a House of Commons committee that the BPI will not
pursue individuals copying privately, even though it is
illegal.
"We now need to make a clear and public distinction between
copying for your own use and copying for dissemination to third
parties and make it unequivocally clear to the consumer that if
they copy their CDs for their own private use in order to move the
music from format to format we will not pursue them," said
Jamieson.
