[x-pubpol] Copyright debate on download ban and home copying levy in the Netherlands culminates

[Joly MacFie]

http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2012/12/21/copyright-debate-on-download-ban-and-home-copying-levy-in-the-netherlands-sparked-this-week.html

"Parliament considers that instead of imposing a download-ban, the
home-copying levy would be a just compensation for downloads from illegal
sources. At this point, it seems like the Dutch parliament wants to either
legalize downloading from illegal sources through the home-copying levy,
since that would be a fair compensation for authors, or ban downloading
from illegal sources while not charging a levy.

However, it is not true that this is an ‘either – or’ situation. This
reasoning is based on the misconception that paying a levy is a
consumer-alternative for an actual purchase, while in fact the levy is
meant to be a compensation for any copies of the works made. This point is
often neglected in the political debate: the levy is meant to compensate
authors for both copies of legally purchased files and illegal copies.
Furthermore, both measures, a ban and a levy, can (and maybe even should)
certainly work together: while a download-ban would prohibit downloads from
illegal sources, a levy would be compensation for copies made of the
licensed works.

>From the point of view of consumers, the political debate is even more
confusing. When they’ve paid an extra charge on their devices to compensate
for copyrights, is it then ok to download illegal copies endlessly? In any
event, this is not the intention of the home-copying levy and it is still
in question whether a levy-system covering illegal sources complies with
EU-law. "




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