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Canadian copyright levy on blank audio recording media
In March 1998, new federal copyright legislation came into effect in Canada. This legislation requires for a levy to be collected on blank audio recording media.
| MEDIA TYPE |
CURRENT LEVY |
PROPOSED (for 2003 & 2004) |
| CD-R & CD-RW (non audio) |
$0.21 per CD |
$0.59 per CD ($0.93 per Gigabyte) |
| Minidisc / CD-R Audio |
$0.77 per CD/Disc |
$1.23 per CD/Disc |
| Cassette tapes (under 40 min.) |
no levy |
no levy |
| Cassette tapes (40 minutes+) |
$0.29 per tape |
$0.60 per tape |
| Flash Memory - Removable |
no levy |
0.8¢ per Megabyte |
| Flash Memory - Non Removable |
no levy |
2.1¢ per Megabyte |
| Micro Hard Drives (mp3 players etc) |
no levy |
$21.00 per Gigabyte |
| DVD-R/RW |
no levy |
$2.27 for each disc |
What if you're not going to use one of these products to store audio data or if you're creating your own recordings? Well, you're apparently out of luck - "the levy is payable on all media that qualify, without regard to end use". It doesn't make the slightest difference if you'll only be storing photos on your media, you have to pay a tariff to the music industry regardless.
Even if you're not Canadian, as MD lovers we ask you to help the cause. Our politicians can toss the law out and come back with something better, one that gives average Canadians a voice, doesn't punish law abiding Canadians, and doesn't put Canadian business and consumers at a disadvantage.
How can the levy be stopped?
You may consider appealing to the Copyright Board of Canada, which will hold public hearings on the proposed levy. Details are on its Web site at the link CPCC's Proposed Tariffs.
PC Buyer's Guide has a good FAQ page about the CPCC's proposed Recordable Media Levy. It contains lots of useful information including who to contact to complain.
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