IT firms step up fight against levies in copyright row

Date: 08/02/01

By Peter Chapman

THE battle over EU-wide copyright rules is set to bubble over to member states as electronics and information technology firms step up their campaign against proposed huge levies on their products.

The European Parliament's legal affairs committee, led by rapporteur Enrico Boselli, this week voted against wholesale changes to a common position on the issue agreed by Union governments last year.

But firms fear member states will still slap extra levies on blank tapes and CDs to compensate rights-holders.

"We recognise that content must be valued on the Web. But this must be done in the right way and levies are not the right way," said Jacques Dunogue, president of the European Information and Communications Technology Industry Association and secretary-general of French IT giant Alcatel.

Dunogue warns that several member states are poised to increase levies. These include a €30 tax in Germany on personal computers that may soon double or triple. France is also considering a levy on all equipment that contains a hard disk capable of downloading copyrighted material.

Boselli says this week's vote preserves the balance between users and rights-holders. But he agrees that it will "absolutely" shift the levies debate to member states.

The full session of MEPs is expected to ratify the committee decision next week. If member states back their draft amendments the copyright directive could enter the EU statute books later this year.

The battle over EU-wide copyright rules is set to bubble over to Member States as electronics and information technology firms step up their campaign against proposed huge levies on their products.