iPod users may be paying a little more for their tunes in the near future, but this could be a good thing. In a ruling released by the Copyright Board of Canada, they have decided that iPods and digital media devices could easily be held under the private copying levy that currently stands on the sale of CDs and DVDs, as well as other recording mediums.
This levy was set in place in 1996 to bring funding back to the artists who may lose money through private copying, which millions of Canadians do every day. The decision was in line with the Copyright board’s previous rulings, which set a precedent for Canadians being legally allowed to not just copy files to their digital media devices, but essentially be in the clear when it came to downloading content online through peer to peer software, says Michael Geist, Canadian copyright law expert.
“Moreover, given the Board’s view that the levy potentially applies to any device, including personal computers, it also provides further confirmation that peer-to-peer downloading is covered by the private copying levy,” says Geist on his website. (Thanks Michel M.)
CityNews: iPod Taxes Approved, Computers And Phones Likely
Tags: Canada, iPod, iPhone, Tax, Levy
This levy was set in place in 1996 to bring funding back to the artists who may lose money through private copying, which millions of Canadians do every day. The decision was in line with the Copyright board’s previous rulings, which set a precedent for Canadians being legally allowed to not just copy files to their digital media devices, but essentially be in the clear when it came to downloading content online through peer to peer software, says Michael Geist, Canadian copyright law expert.
“Moreover, given the Board’s view that the levy potentially applies to any device, including personal computers, it also provides further confirmation that peer-to-peer downloading is covered by the private copying levy,” says Geist on his website. (Thanks Michel M.)
