Canadian iPod levy assumes you're a criminal first, asks questions never

Filed under: Audio, News

Canadian iPod levy assumes you're a criminal first, asks questions never

by Grant Robertson Jul 20th 2007

Canada has moved one step closer to imposing a copyright levy on every personal digital audio device sold, which would be handed over to the worlds largest music publishers as compensation for perceived piracy.

Michael Giest writes, "The government has yet to play its hand on this issue, but with the prospect of an unpopular levy and mounting pressure for a Canadian fair use provision, it will have to take a stand sometime soon."

Essentially what this means is, if you buy an iPod or similar device in Canada, soon you'll automatically be assumed to pirate music illegally, and will be forced to pay a small fee up front to the recording industry as penance. It's like getting a parking ticket while your car is still in the garage.

Tags: copyright levy, CopyrightLevy, ipod, stupid laws, StupidLaws

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

AndrewS said 11:33AM on 7-20-2007

I live in Canada, and I love this setup. It doesn't assume you're a criminal, it makes storing copyrighted material legal.

GreeneBastard said 11:39AM on 7-20-2007

Cool, so since they require that you "do the time" first, not only are you free to, but you are actually encouraged to "do the crime"......

GOOOOO Lawyers!!!

iamhoff said 12:08PM on 7-20-2007

Take off, eh!

Kurt said 12:08PM on 7-20-2007

YAY! Piracy is now legal. I knew being born here would pay off eventually.

ruegr said 12:10PM on 7-20-2007

It's been years since a small levy was added to blank media like CDRs, and you know what - no-one even thinks about it any more.

The reality is that a lot of music changes hands through unlicenced channels, and regardless of how much you hate the music corporations the people who write that music deserve to make a living.

A small media levy is the best solution I've seen yet for satisfying everyone's interest in a reasonable fashion.

(that this may involve an iPod is really irrelevant)

American said 12:47PM on 7-20-2007

Canadians are so lame! You tossers would all be speaking German if it wasn't for the United States! You deserve what you get you twats!

Geoff said 12:52PM on 7-20-2007

Reuger in canada we are taxed to death, so it is a stupid idea, its just another tax and there is no guarantee the money will go the artists as with the cdr levy it has not it, some has gone to the big labels but that defeats the purpose if the artist gets nothing. Why make the richer-richer. I wouldnt really care as i live beside the border and can go to the US buy an ipod for less money on a now pretty even dollar, so theres the proof it will just screw our retailers and governement will lose taxes so it will never go thru

Ian said 2:04PM on 7-20-2007

SO how do they decide how to compensate each artist? If indeed the artists see any of this money.

SkaPig said 2:45PM on 7-20-2007

The uses of "iPod" in the titles of articles that apply to digital audio devices in generally is getting to be quite obnoxious.

As someone who is heavily involved with the independent music scene, I find such levies to asinine. On top of assuming that you are going to use the media for piracy, it also assumes that you are pirating the content of the major labels/studios which represent a very small number of copyrighted content producers. There is far more copyrighted content from the non-majors that could be pirated, but those copyright holders don't receive any compensation from it.

All kinds of silly scenarios can be generated by applying this twisted logic.

DavidSwe said 2:58PM on 7-20-2007

Correct me if Im wrong but...
It's not really like they say. Hey! You will make illegal copies! But rather that our laws tells us that the citizens are allowed to make copies of our bought music and share those with our friends legally. This is legal but it pisses US label companies of. So they pay the price for having that law.

James said 3:06PM on 7-20-2007

Um, 21 cents per CD-R is not a "small" levy when in America you can routinely get CDs for less than 10 cents each. If the tax is twice as much as the product cost, I do not call that "small", I call it Socialism.

(source: http://neil.eton.ca/copylevy.shtml -- if my info is out of date, by all means let me know)

And somebody above addressed the even-bigger problem: who decides where the money goes? Do I want a government body deciding which music deserves the most money?

Davin Peterson said 3:22PM on 7-20-2007

iPod's aren't the only player. What about the Creative Zen? It is wrong to call MP3 players iPods. Apple didn't invent the MP3 player, they stole the technology from Creative, which first came out with a player in 2000.

So, you should say any mp3 players such as an iPod, Zen or Zune.

Xav said 3:59PM on 7-20-2007

AndrewS is correct... I don't think this has been challenged yet in Canada, but because you are forced to pay a copyright levy, it becomes pretty much impossible to prosecute Canadians for downloading copyrighted materials... If you get a parking ticket while your car is still in the garage, leave the ticket on your car and go park anywhere you please.

mg said 7:53PM on 7-20-2007

Socialism? WTF?!

I guess you even didn't have any discussion about alternative remuneration models for artists! Canada is very smart and has the chance to show the world that this model could work! I just hope their smart enough. Music industry is as dead as their CDs. A waste of material and subvention for a whole industry of manufacturers!

Ok, did the politicans make you think that this „piratism“ is bad? Oh I'm so sorry!

I just hope the earnings are divided fair. But still i guess music industry gets most! More than they earn!

Geoff R said 7:58PM on 7-20-2007

Haha, does this make it legal to download music now?

Pft, money to the artists? Ya right, more like money to the recording companies. Considering artists get under 5% of the $20 you spend on a CD, I wonder how much of this levy they will get.

And about the ipod vs other mp3 things, I don't think Apple will be too happy about their player being singled out.

Jim said 4:44PM on 7-23-2007

@American - take a history lesson - Canada played a larger in ousting the Germans than the US did. Having said that, y'all had your hands full on two fronts.

In Canada we have been paying a levy on blank CD and DVD media for years.

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