iPod: to levy or not to levy? (or, I want my private copying)
Remember the levy that was collected on ipods, then refunded, then argued over? It might be coming back according to a decision by the Copyright Board of Canada. The decision may still be appealed. Again, Michael Geist has the story.
The decision continues by stating that this interpretation is consistent with the intent of the Copyright Act and Parliament, concluding that “to rule that digital recorders are not audio recording media does not serve the purpose of the Act or that of Part VIII [the private copying provisions]. It instantly makes the conduct of millions of Canadians illegal, and even possibly criminal.“
Take a look at the private copying section of the copyright act. Specifically, sections 80 and 82. Section 80 is what gives us Canucks the ability to copy for personal use. It says that “the act of reproducing all or any substantial part of … onto an audio recording medium for the private use of the person who makes the copy does not constitute an infringement of the copyright in the musical work, the performer’s performance or the sound recording.” Guess what? Section 82 says that there’s a levy that must be collected on a recording medium. Without the levy on your iPod, private copying exemptions don’t apply when you copy to it. That’s what the judge meant when he said the conduct of millions of Canadians is illegal without it.
So why did Apple push to get rid of the levy? Most likely just to increase sales by lowering the effective cost to Canadians, but I bet leaving iTunes the only explicitly legal way to get music on your iPod wouldn’t dissuade them.
Dr. Geist goes on further to suggest that “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.” That’s not to say that anyone with a computer is entitled to download over peer to peer right now. It just means that computers could be levied. Which brings me to another couple questions: Since I didn’t pay a levy on my hard disk is it legal for me to rip my CDs to it? Is peer-to-peer considered distribution?
