Paradis to introduce regs to block possible memory card levy

OTTAWA—The Conservative government will put regulations in place to exempt microSD memory cards from a possible copyright levy, Industry Minister Christian Paradis said Tuesday. At a news conference at a Future Shop store in Ottawa's south end, Paradis said the Tory government's Bill C-11, the Copyright Modernization Act, “struck the right balance” to ensure artists are properly compensated for their work and that Canadians do not pay fees or penalties for adopting new technologies. Bill C-11 received royal assent Friday. “That is why our government cannot allow a fee to be imposed on microSD memory cards,” Paradis said in his speech. He noted that the new fee would be imposed on devices such as BlackBerrys and other smartphones, which are key tools Canadians use to participate in the digital economy. “This new fee would directly increase costs for consumers and would unfairly disadvantage certain products—Canadian products—against their competitors,” Paradis said. “And it would hamper growth and adoption at a crucial time in the development of Canada’s digital economy.” Paradis will ask for the introduction of governor-in-council regulations in the fall, a release said. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), a copyright collective responsible for collecting and distributing private copying levies, filed an application with the Copyright Board last year for a levy on microSD memory cards to compensate rights holders for the music stored on them. In response, a coalition of 17 groups and companies including SaskTel, Telus Corp., and Research in Motion Ltd., lobbied the government to introduce a regulation to exempt memory cards from the levy. The group sent a letter to Heritage Minister James Moore and Paradis on Feb. 9, saying the CPCC's narrow application for a music levy on microSD cards would apply to technology “overwhelmingly used to store photos in digital cameras, video recorders, and smartphones.” Marc Choma, director of communications at the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (CWTA), said in an emailed statement to The Wire Report Tuesday that the wireless industry “fully supports and commends” the government for making the decision. “MicroSD cards are an integral part of the way Canadians use their BlackBerrys and smartphones,” he said. “And with more than half of Canadian cell phone subscribers currently using smartphones, the government’s decision to not impose additional fees on memory cards is certainly welcomed by the industry and Canadian consumers alike.” David Basskin, president of copyright collective CMRRA/SODRAC Inc. and a director on the board of the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), said in a phone interview Tuesday that the government decision is “very unfortunate and very regrettable” because it will prevent music creators from being fairly compensated. “They’ve announced that they’re going to show their love for consumers by making sure that the people who create the music don’t get paid,” Basskin said. He said the decision is a form of political interference in a judicial process because it “is basically cutting the ground out from underneath a hearing that was already on the schedule of the Copyright Board.” Basskin said that the copyright collective had a legal right to a hearing by the Copyright Board, which would have reviewed it’s proposal to attach a 50 cent levy on microSD cards under 1 GB, $1 on cards ranging between one and 8 GB, and $3 on cards above 8 GB. “It wasn’t a levy on the phones,” he said. “It was a levy on the cards themselves. In other words, the government has decided to interfere with a judicial process and deprive us of rights that are in the law, and at the same time, take away our right to fair compensation on the use of our music.” He said CPCC’s surveys and evidence show that millions of people copy music on microSD-enabled devices. Basskin said the “the government is exercising a power in the Copyright Act by which it can declare that a particular medium does not qualify for the levy,” adding: “We think that this is a very bad thing.” dgrenier@thewirereport.ca

Paradis to introduce regs to block possible memory card levy

Broadcast | July 3, 2012

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Paradis to introduce regs to block possible memory card levy

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