Digital levies
There have been a couple of stories relating to the levies on blank digital media this week. The levies are used to “compensate” copyright holders for the rights infringements that sales of blank CDs etc. will result in. Having read that you might well wonder “what about the numerous non-infringing uses of blank media?”, I’ve wondered the same thing and come to the conclusion that like a lot of copyright law it’s best for my stress levels not think about it too much. After all we’re guilty until proven innocent, right?
The first story was the news that Europe is planning to put a stop to the levies on MP3 players and other electronics. Of course the devices will have to incorporate DRM to ensure that they’re not used to breach copyright. The worrying aspect of this is that there could be pressure put on the electronics manufacturers to only support DRM crippled files which would be a disaster for independent content producers who are happy to see their work shared.
Second was the news today that Spain are adding levies to blank media. This comes in spite of an EC report claiming that increased use of levies (and the broadening of their use to, for instance, broadband connections) would provoke resentment amongst consumers.
It seems unlikely that the UK will get similar levies any time soon seen as officially we have no fair use rights so all copying is illegal. A levy to compensate copyright holders would be a tacit acknowledgement that the existing law is almost universally ignored.