Comment: Consumer goods and copyright conundrums

By Stewart Mitchell

Posted on 10 Jul 2006 at 18:07

'Copyright levies on digital products are an outdated form of taxation that penalises consumers, artists and industry alike. European lawmakers have an obligation to establish efficiency and transparency in collecting levies while phasing out the levies system,' said Mark MacGann, director general of European digital technology industry group EICTA.

'They're an unfair, indiscriminate and non-transparent tax on consumers.'

So is it a clear choice between restrictions on copying and levies? Apparently not; the EUCD allows member states to pick and choose from a host of directive elements. France has riled the copyright lobbyists by proposing lax laws, while Finland threw the regulatory form book out the window, introducing an effective ban on copying for personal use. Crucially, though, the existing levies remain in place.

The battle lines have been drawn, but the fear is that lobbyists, rich with the dollars of large media companies, could skew new legislation in their favour.

'We'll fight for the consumer and hope the Gowers Review brings reform, but the lobbyists have a lot more money than consumer groups,' said Johnstone. It's hard to see the media moguls suffering any sort of knockout blow.