PRIVATE COPYING : MCCREEVY FACES TOUGH ARBITRATION BETWEEN CLEAR-CUT POSITIONS.

PositionCharlie McCreevy

Although there are no plans to call back into question the principle of remuneration of authors for private copying, Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy wants to relaunch debate on the copyright levies system on reproduction material (computers, MP3 players, printers, etc.) and media (CDs, DVDs). He is likely to have a tough time arbitrating between the industry and publishing rights societies.

"We need to review how these levies are imposed in practice," he said on 14 February, showing his last card in this continuing debate, namely a consultation up until 18 April, followed by a public hearing in June. He has already suggested that levies should be "proportional to the losses caused by private copying".

This ambiguity bothers Veronique Desbrosses, general secretary of the European Grouping of Authors' and Composers' Societies (Gesac). The commissioner is not challenging the principle of remuneration, but may call into question the copyright levies systems used in 22 of the 27 member states. "The starting point for us is that the systems are not up for discussion. We are willing to discuss the issues, but not in terms of rates and basis of assessment," she explained.

To put it plainly, it is out of the question to identify at European level the products on which levies are imposed, which vary from one country to the next, or the system used to calculate levies. Those are precisely the expectations of the digital technology and electronics industry, however. "The idea is to ensure the introduction at European level of a fair, transparent and effective compensation system that respects rights-holders," observed Mark MacGann, director of EICTA, the European association that speaks for the digital technology industry, including Apple, Canon, Cisco, Philips, Dell, Thomson and IBM.

McCreevy's announcement was reassuring for the industry 14 months after Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso vetoed an initial reform proposal, which raised an outcry in artists' circles.

"The situation has become catastrophic," commented Mark MacGann. "Levies are being imposed on more and more products." He claims that private copying...

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