Copyright news anyone? Oh, go on, you know you want it. Well, here goes. The European Commission yesterday unveiled plans to set up a clearer and more efficient system regarding copyright levies across Europe. The move could save electronics firms, who currently have to pay the levy on certain products, millions of euros a year.
The levies, mainly dating from the sixties, operate in numerous European countries, and exist to compensate artists for the fact that consumers use photocopiers and recording devices to make private copies of copyrighted books and records. The levy system essentially gives consumers permission to make such private copies, but in return charges a levy on media and devices used to make them - including copiers, cassettes, CDRs and MP3 players - which is passed on to the copyright owning community, as compensation for the copying that is assumed to take place.
The EC's aim isn't to replace the levy system, but to make it more consistent, both across different countries, and between different technologies. A concern is that when a company develops a new technology that may be subject to such a levy, it is hard for them to predict what the levy may be, making it hard for them to assess the commercial viability of their venture. That, the EC says, hinders innovation.
Announcing its latest plans, the EC said its new system will mean "greater efficiency, clarity and transparency" while still providing "fair compensation" to rights-holders . They added: "From an innovation perspective, an improved regime should assist information and computer technology companies and equipment producers in bringing new and innovative products and services to market, including on a cross-border basis".
Stressing the need for a change in the levy system, European Commission VP Gunter Verheugen told reporters: "Who would be interested to innovate if there is no guarantee that the results obtained, often after long and costly research, will not provide any returns? Structural change must not be seen as a threat, but as an opportunity to become more competitive."
I've no idea what all this means for the UK, where we don't currently have any levy relating to the private recordings of music (which are technically speaking illegal). Whether a pan-European levy system would mean such a system had to be introduced here I don't know. Perhaps I'll try and find out.