Brussels, 12/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - No decision has yet been taken on the form or the substance of the dossier concerning private copy remuneration, the spokesman for Charlie McCreevy, European Internal Market Commissioner, said on Tuesday 12 December. He pointed out that such a decision would be taken “soon”, probably within the “next day or two”. At this stage, it is not known whether the Commission maintains its aim of adopting a recommendation by end 2006 in this field, as foreseen in its innovation strategy (see EUROPE 8926). Set in place in twenty Member States, the system authorises private copies of audiovisual works while imposing, in exchange, fees on blank CD/DVDs and electronic devices (MP3 players), which are then paid to the authors through the collective rights management companies to which they belong.
The development of a recommendation on private copy remuneration is struggling to gain ground within the Commission's internal market services. A source familiar with the dossier confided end November that, to be perfectly honest, even they did not know what the situation was. After public consultation (see EUROPE 9218), a first version of the recommendation - denounced by its detractors as causing injury to the private copy system - has been circulating within the European institution. It was recently replaced by a second version which was not submitted to discussion by all parties involved. Opinions differ within the College. Mr McCreevy, who is sensitive to the arguments put forth by the industry, is pushing for adoption of a text by the end of the year, but Jan Figel, responsible for education and culture, is said to be in favour of the current system. Others are said to advocate a communication which - unlike a recommendation - could not be invoked before national courts.
The dossier comes under great pressure from the supporters and opponents of any initiative in this field (see EUROPE 9292, 9302). Those defending the remuneration system for private copies denounce the fact that the industry is being “held up” at the expense of the creators and consider that the system does not have an impact on sales of electronic appliances. The industry brings into question the double taxation when electronic goods are purchased and every time a work is downloaded, as well as the lack of transparency in collecting fees. It gives figures (€950 million) that are twice as high as those of the authors. (mb)