CPCC to appeal private copying decision

As expected, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) has decided to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada a court decision that removed the private copying levy from MP3 players and other digital audio recorders (CNM, Dec. 17/04). In a ruling made public Decmber 17, The Federal Court of Appeal dismissed two applications for judicial review of the Copyright Board of Canada’s controversial year-old private copying decision on the issues of zero-rating and constitutionality (CNM, Dec. 19/03), but reversed the board’s decision in the matter of levies on non-removable memory. The court did not counter the board’s finding that the controversial zero-rating scheme that exempted some bulk buyers of recordable compact discs is illegal, though it ruled that it would not be illegal for the Canadian Private Copying Collective to waive charges of its own volition. The board will not have to offset the amount of such waivers, however, when setting tariffs for private copying. The court ruled, barely, that the private copying regime is a form of levy, and not a tax, and thus constitutional. Finally, the court ruled that the memory that is embedded in devices such as Apple Corp.’s iPod is not subject to the levy. The CPCC’s appeal is not yet ready, and a spokesperson tells Canadian NEW MEDIA that the decision to fight the ruling was taken just this morning. A media release issued today notes: “In seeking leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, CPCC will argue that the Appeal Court erred in deciding that the Copyright Board did not have jurisdiction to impose a levy on memory permanently embedded in digital audio recorders.” In the same release, CPCC chair Claudette Fortier says of the appeal: "Creators of recorded music deserve remuneration for the use of their work. It is our responsibility to uphold that principle even when new developments in technology change the ways in which Canadians make private copies of music." News of the appeal has come quickly. The CPCC had 60 days from the December 17 ruling to make an appeal. This decision was expected, however, even if it’s early. While device manufacturers, record labels and consumers were generally seen as the big winners of the December ruling, most observers noted that the CPCC came away largely empty-handed, and with millions of dollars in potential revenue taken off the table in one sweep. Some observers have noted that the effect of the original court ruling might be to remove music downloading from peer-to-peer networks as a protected activity under the private copying exception (CNM, Dec. 22/04), and it will be interesting to see whether music labels support the appeal. The CPCC is a non-profit agency charged with collecting and distributing private copying levies. Established in 1999, CPCC is a collective of collectives that represent authors, composers, music publishers, artists and record companies.

CPCC to appeal private copying decision

Broadcast | January 13, 2005

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