Dutch Secretary of Security and Justice Mr. Teeven intends to revitalize the private copying levy from 1 January 2013. He intends to charge a levy over devices that fell outside the scope of the private copying levy until now, like mp3 players and hard disk recorders. According to Mr. Teeven, it is necessary to revise the private copying levy system to comply with the Copyright Directive. His letter is an invitation to the representatives of the electronics industry to join the discussion about a revision of the system. 

The private copying levy has its foundation in the European Copyright Directive (Directive 2001/29/EC). This directive states that authors have to be protected against unauthorized use of their works. With regard to copies for private use, member states have two choices: either private copying is only allowed with the permission of the right holder, or member states can exempt private copying and provide the right holder with a fair compensation. 

In the Netherlands, the compensation for right holders is collected by a levy on empty media carriers, like CD-ROMs or DVDs. Since 2007, the private copying levy system was frozen, so no new carriers could be added to it. The freezing was meant to facilitate the debate about the future of the private copying levy. This led to a lawsuit between some artists and stakeholders and the government. The artists and stakeholders stated that it was unfair that the private copying levy was not charged for devices like mp3 players and hard disk recorders, because they would miss income from their copyrights. The Court of Appeal ruled that the freezing of the private copying levy system is unlawful towards the stakeholders. The government appealed to the Supreme Court. The court procedure is currently pending. It is not likely that the ruling will be before 1 January 2013. 

FutureOfCopyright.com will keep you up to date about the developments around the private copying levy.

Read more about the private copying levy on FutureOfCopyright.com: 

• Court orders Dutch government to properly enforce private copying levy
• Dutch Advocate General proposes to submit prejudicial questions to the ECJ about the private copying levy
• ECJ confirms legality of private copying levies, but their application raises practical concerns

Source: letter of Mr. Teeven about the private copying levy

By: Marjolein van der Heide