Brussels, 04/04/2012 (Agence Europe) - The former European justice commissioner, Antonio Vitorino, initiated a mediation process on private copying and reprography levies on Monday 2 April. This task was entrusted to him in May 2011 in the Commission communication entitled “A Single Market for Intellectual Property Rights”, by Commissioner Michel Barnier.
Vitorino was asked to identify the best way to achieve coherence, effectiveness and legitimacy in the implementation and application by member states of the principles and legal framework underpinning private copying and reprography services (blank CD and DVD, recording equipment, MP3 players, computers, printers, scanners, etc) for this purpose. Member states, however, allow considerable differences to persist in the application of such taxes (levy systems, tariffs applied), which affects the proper functioning of the internal market, and which exposes rights holders to different treatment and legal uncertainty. The mediation mission between the parties aims to identify how to eliminate such differences and to develop legislative recommendations on this. Vitorino has therefore announced that he will examine different questions (methodology for setting levy tariffs, cross-border sales, determination of the person or entity liable to pay the levy, visibility of the levy, and private copying and reprography in the context of new digital forms of distribution of copyright, etc).
The association Impala, which represents independent music publishers at European level, welcomes the launch of the mediation process. (FG/transl.jl)