The European Commission has delayed a decision relating to copyright levies charged on MP3 players and CD-Rs.
As previously reported, such levies are charged in twenty member countries of the European Union (but not the UK) and are designed to legitimise private copying where consumers make copies of CDs they buy for personal use - ie by burning a spare copy on CDR, or transferring tracks to their PC or MP3 player. The levies are charged every time copying devices are sold, and are passed back to collecting societies representing the artist community. The levies, originally introduced on the sale of blank cassettes, vary from country to country in relation to how much is charged and what devices they are added to.
Since levies have started to be added to MP3 players in some countries, the electronics manufacturers have been proactively lobbying for the EC to abolish the levy, arguing it is an "unjustified and illegitimate" tax on their goods. Needless to say, copyright groups who benefit from the levies disagree. The EU was expected to make an announcement regarding the levies this week, but instead said that it needed more time to "deliberate and reflect" on the "complex issue". The Commission did not give any indication as to how long that would take.
Needless to say those advocating reforms in this area have not responded well to the delay, with the Copyright Levies Reform Alliance accusing European Commission president José Manuel Barroso of capitulating to French demands to protect the levy system.