Copying Collective wants to introduce more tariffs to collect on recording devices
Marke Andrews
Sun
If you’re planning to buy an iPod or MP3 player, you may want to do it before the end of the year. Buying later may cost you another $75.
The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), the non-profit agency which charges a tariff on blank CDs, Mini Discs and audio cassettes used for recording, has proposed not only an increase in the existing tariffs, but also a new tariff on digital memory cards and digital audio recorders.
The proposal, which must be approved by the Canadian Copyright Board, asks that the levy on CD-Rs and CD-RWs rise from 21 to 29 cents, and the levy on CD-R Audio, CD-RW Audio and Mini Discs rise from 77 to 85 cents. No increase was asked on audio cassettes which are rarely used any more for music recording.
But the biggest news to consumers is the CPCC request for a levy on memory cards and digital audio recorders. The proposed levy ranges from $2 to $10 on memory cards, and $5 to $75 on digital recorders, depending on the capacity of each.
This is the second attempt to collect on recording devices. In 2004, the Canadian Copyright Board approved a levy on the hard disk or flash memory embedded in digital audio devices, but the levy was rejected that December by the Federal Court of Appeal which ruled that a hard disk within an MP3 was not a medium itself.
The successful appeal was launched by manufacturers and importers, primarily the Canadian Storage Media Alliance.
This time around, the CPCC will go after digital audio recorders.
“Our view is that devices such as the iPod are recording media,” said David Basskin, CPCC board member. “They meet the definition under the copyright act by which a levy can be collected. They are a medium that can be used to copy a sound recording that’s ordinarily used for that purpose by individuals.
“The reason that that people use iPods and similar things is to copy sound recordings, and when they do so they are not infringing copyright, and the tradeoff for that is that a levy is charged.”
Basskin hopes to have a decision by the Canadian Copyright Board before the end of the year. The current tariff expires on Dec. 31.
The proposed CPCC tariffs would run through Dec. 31, 2009. Cell phones, personal computers and hand-held computers are excluded from the proposed tariff.
The CPCC, established in 1999, collects the tariff fees from the manufacturers and importers of blank media. The funds collected are then distributed as royalties to songwriters and publishers (who receive 66 per cent), performers (18.9 per cent) and record companies (15.1 per cent). The CPCC pays the money to the organizations representing these groups (SOCAN, CMRRA and SODRAC represent songwriters and publishers), who then distribute it to their members.
In 2005, the CPCC distributed $31 million to rights holders from total revenue of $35 million.
Last June, a survey by Environics Research Group found that 60 per cent of Canadians believe that music creators should be compensated when their music is copied without their authorization. It is estimated that Canadians copy 1.1 billion tracks each year.
© The Vancouver Sun 2007
