Called the copyright levy, the charge is applied in many EU
countries and paid into a fund which pays out to artists thought to
be the victim of music and film piracy. It is charged on blank
discs, MP3 players and other electronic products which can be used
in the pirating of copyrighted material.
The levy is controversial because it assumes that all such
devices are used to some extent for copying purposes.
Internal markets Commissioner Charlie McCreevy said that he will
not scrap the idea of compensation for artists for copyright
infringement, but that the problem was the wide diversity of
practice within the EU.
"'I hope this new round of consultations can lead to solutions
being found to the discrepancies that the diverse application of
these levies have led to," he said. "There can be no question of
calling into doubt the entitlement of rights holders to
compensation for private copying. At the same time there is a need
to look at how the levies are applied in practice."
EU nations can apply the levy or not, but if their copyright
laws allow for private copying of already-bought material, such as
from a legitimate CD to an MP3 player for example, then Europe's
Copyright Directive demands that 'adequate compensation' be made to
rights holders.
That has generally been taken to mean that countries with
private copying exceptions should have copyright levies, but the UK
has refused to introduce a levy since it proposed private copying
exemptions earlier this year.
In January the Government published its plans for copyright
reform, which included the introduction of a private right to copy.
It said it did not believe that the introduction of private copying
came with an obligation to introduce a levy.
"The exception proposed in this paper is very narrow in scope
and, therefore, we consider that there would be no obligation for
payment under the Copyright Directive for a limited format shifting
exception, as there is no significant harm to the right holder
which would need to be compensated," said its proposal paper.
McCreevy recognised that he will be dealing with parties with
entrenched positions on the controversial levy.
"It should be possible to envisage some workable solution that
assures the rights holders of their due compensation and at the
same time applying the levies in a way that is commensurate with
the loss caused by private copying," he said. "If pragmatic and
workable solutions are to be found, all sides need to come to this
debate with a constructive approach."
Most European countries have some kind of copyright levy, though
the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg have never had one.
McCreevy also announced that he believed that performers'
copyright should be extended from 50 to 95 years.
