Canada Could Reinstate Levy On Digital Audio Players

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Uh oh, is Canada facing reinstatement of the levy on digital audio players? It could become reality if the Canadian Private Copying Collective get their way.

The Copyright Board of Canada has released its decision on a series of motions contesting the latest attempt by the Canadian Private Copyright Collective to apply the private copying levy to iPods and removable memory storage cards.
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So I may be wrong but I thought they paid a tax (a heavy one) on recordable media and storage devices because of the possibility that they could be used for pirating and that it recovered losses to the various industries. Because of that they weren't going to have the lawsuit circious like we have.

Then I read an article about the equivelent association starting or at least thinking about RIAA style tactics.

If all of that were true then are they being hassled on booth ends by tax and lawsuits? I know their government is differnt and thustly has differnt laws but that is... just bogus for a lack of a better term.
 
This is what pisses me off:

removable memory storage cards.
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I have a TON of removable storage cards and not a single one of them has music or movies on them.... all for work related material or documents.... so WHY should they collect on that?!
 
Also, why iPods?! Most people who purchaes an ipod buys their songs... so does this mean iTune discounts for people who buys iTunes songs with their iPod since they were taxed on the assumption that they are pirating?
 
You can use your ipod as an external HD. An 80GB ipod could be used to carry around a lot of pirated music/movies if the person was so inclined.
 
They did it before but there was such an outrage they took it out. They had better not start doing it again.
 
If they tax DAPs, then they should tax all CD and DVD players as well, both AV and car audio. Also, consumers may begin printing hex dumps of the mp3 files and carrying them around in phone book size stacks. Better tax both paper and printer cartridges.
 
yagisencho said:
If they tax DAPs, then they should tax all CD and DVD players as well, both AV and car audio. Also, consumers may begin printing hex dumps of the mp3 files and carrying them around in phone book size stacks. Better tax both paper and printer cartridges.
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Going back to punch cards, aren't we? :p
 
IF the levy starts up again, just don't buy ANY of the taxed items and the levy will be removed shortly. Trust that if the manufacturers of these levied devices sell none because of the tax, it will get removed.
 
Eseipel said:
You can use your ipod as an external HD. An 80GB ipod could be used to carry around a lot of pirated music/movies if the person was so inclined.
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The key word there is could. This version of the levy is assuming that every single digital storage device is being used as a storage medium for copyright material. It was ridiculous when they did it for optical media and it is ridiculous now. What they are asking for is basically a private tax on every single digital device in this country. Since when is a non-profit entity allowed to levy a friggin tax? Especially a tax that ASSUMES the device is only going to be used for one thing...

The Canadian Private Copying Collective may seem like it services the full spectrum of copyright holders, however, the only thing the CPCC actually represents is the music industry. Personally, I'm not too thrilled about the RIAA and all its little shadow organizations being able to levy a goddamn tax.
 
Tax Tax Tax...remember the Boston Tea Party?

Who wants to dump all the ipods into the river? ;)

No, really, In all seriousness I hope this doesn't come to fruition for them. Hopefully there is some roadblock down the road for these levy's because it is not good for the Canadians and also Americans for that matter.
 
We've been paying levies to this organization for tapes, CD-R, and DVD-R (and the like) for several years. In effect, this means that blank media is more expensive in Canada than in the U.S.

On the flip-side, as I understand it there is no limit to the number of personal copies of music we can make up here. None of this "one copy for backup purposes" nonsense.

The purpose of the levy is supposed to be the compensation of Canadian artists for the multiple legitimate copies of their work in circulation per unit actually sold (and has nothing to do with expectations of piracy).

That being said, I don't know that this redistribution of wealth by the CPCC is really happening...
 
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