Trio oppose copyright levy on blank tapes

Date: 04/02/1999

By Peter Chapman

THE UK, Ireland and Luxembourg are set to lead opposition to MEPs' calls for changes to planned new copyright rules for the digital era, amid fears that they could be forced to impose levies on blank tapes and other recording equipment such as re-writable CDs.

The three member states are the only EU countries which do not currently operate a levy scheme for blank tapes. They argue that such schemes are not necessary, because home users are only taping music or films so they can view or listen to them at a more convenient time.

But they fear that they would have to fall into line with the rest of the EU if two of the amendments to the European Commission's draft copyright directive approved by the European Parliament's legal affairs committee are enacted.

The changes proposed by Italian Socialist MEP Roberto Barzanti would require copyright holders such as authors or record companies to be compensated for private copying for personal use, which would be allowed.

One amendment covers copying of analogue recordings, while another would target digital recordings which had not been scrambled. In both cases, schemes would have to be set up to compensate the copyright holder.

Officials from the three member states fear they will face an uphill struggle to defeat the proposal if the full Parliament supports the legal affairs committee's stance when it votes on the proposals next week.

But a British diplomat said the UK was ready to fight the private copying plan if it is approved by MEPs. London says the call for levies for all analogue copying is "not acceptable", arguing that there is no justification for insisting on compensation for home recording of broadcasts for 'time- shifting purposes' and warning that it would almost certainly provoke "a considerable consumer reaction".

The UK is also opposed to levy schemes for digital recordings for the same reasons, although it concedes artists should have the right to scramble their work so it cannot be copied.

Irish and Luxembourg copyright officials said this week that they shared British antipathy towards a tape levy scheme.

The European Commission this week fuelled concern that member states could be forced to introduce such a system by indicating at a special meeting that it would support the Barzanti amendments, although it is set to reject many of the other changes to its proposals called for by the legal affairs committee amid concern that these would impose intolerable burdens on telecoms operators.

The Commission avoided levy schemes in its original proposals, fearing the response from some member states.