MARCH 2008
Courts adapt copyright levies to new media
Two recent German Supreme Court decisions have highlighted the differentiated approach required towards copyright levies on new media devices, says Fabian Niemann
| One-minute read |
In two important decisions handed down in the past four months, the German Federal Supreme Court (FSC) considered how provisions in the old German Copyright Act should be applied to machines with a copying facility. The Court ruled that the so-called reprographic copyright levy – introduced into German legislation to compensate rights owners for licence-free copying carried out on traditional photocopiers – does not apply to single function printers, but that it does apply to multifunctional printers which have a photocopying function. The decision is likely to have costly implications for manufacturers and consumers.
In this article, Fabian Niemann looks in detail at what the rulings mean for makers of PCs and other electronic devices and media in Germany, and highlights inconsistencies in the way that copyright levies are applied across Europe. Finally, he looks at a new attempt by the Commission to harmonize national rules on copyright levies. |
In two landmark judgements, dated December 6 2007 and January 30 2008, the German Federal Supreme Court (FSC) considered how the provisions in the German Copyright Act in force until December 31 2007 should be applied to copying machines. The Court ruled that the so-called reprographic copyright levy – introduced into German legislation to compensate rights owners for licence-free copying carried out on traditional photocopiers – does not apply to single function printers, but that it does apply to multifunctional printers which have a photocopying function.
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