A plan by the government to block a review of a private copying levy on microSD cards has the Canadian Private Copying Collective and the New Democrats crying foul.
Industry Minister Christian Paradis announced Tuesday that the federal government will block a hearing by the Copyright Board of Canada on a proposal to introduce a copyright levy, similar to that attached to blank CDs, to microSD cards.
The CPCC said the government’s move is “premature and represents inappropriate interference.”
“The federal government has usurped the authority of the Copyright Board and the long-established fair and independent process it oversees with respect to how songwriters, music publishers, and other rights holders are compensated for the private copying of their music,” said CPCC chair Lyette Bouchard.
“By unilaterally quashing the request for a private copying tariff on what has become a widely used medium for copying music, this government is once again denying Canadian music creators the ability to earn a living from their work,” Bouchard said.
The Tories have described a proposed levy on MP3 players an “iPod tax” that make devices more expensive. That same position has now been extended to microSD cards.
The CPCC administers and collects the copying levy from sales of blank media like CD-Rs, and distributes the money to songwriters, music publishers, and other rights holders as compensation for this use of their work.
The CPCC asked the Copyright Board to have the levy applied to microSD memory cards, as research has shown that the cards are widely used to copy music for playback on smartphones and other devices.
Bouchard says the government is standing in the way of artists collecting due compensation by not allowing the levy to keep up with technological change.
On Tuesday, the Harper government said it would put in place regulations exempting microSD memory cards from copyright levies.
“Our government is committed to building a strong and vibrant Canadian digital economy, the cornerstone of which must be the widespread adoption of cutting-edge digital technologies,” said Paradis.
“Placing a new fee on devices with removable memory cards, such as BlackBerrys and smartphones, would increase costs for Canadian families and impact the adoption of the latest technologies.”
The government says it has the power to exclude any type of recording medium from the application of a levy under the private copying regime.
Paradis said the government struck a hard-won balance in its recent Copyright Modernization Act to ensure consumer and user rights were balanced against giving creators the tools to protect their work and grow their businesses.
The NDP says big tech companies are behind the decision to block the microSD levy, describing the move as an attack on artists.
“This shows unbelievable arrogance,” said Pierre Nantel, the NDP heritage critic.
“The independent Copyright Board has the mandate and the expertise to impartially review these issues but instead we see Conservatives override this process at the urging of big business.”
The NDP argues the levy is needed to replace the millions of dollars of revenue that recording artists are losing as consumers move away from CDs.
The NDP says a coalition of businesses including, Telus, Microsoft, and Panasonic, sent a letter to Industry Minister, Christian Paradis, asking him to intervene.
The CPCC has called for levies of 50¢ for each electronic memory card up to 1 GB of memory, $1.00 for each electronic memory up to 8 GB, and $3.00 for memory cards over 8 GB.
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