“Canada’s Private Copyright Collective (CPCC) is once again trying to find a way to force would-be iPod buyers to pay a copyright tax despite being told in 2004 such a levy is illegal,” Tony Smith reports for The Register.
Smith reports, “The CPCC said last week it wants $5 (CAD) levied on players with up to 1GB of memory, $25 for up to 10GB of music storage, $50 for capacities of between 10GB and 30GB, and $75 for anything that holds more than 30GB of storage.”
Smith reports, “The CPCC, which distributes to artists and publishers cash collected by the Copyright Board, last week submitted a new plea for an iPod tax to the Board. The current tariff expires on 31 December 2007, so it’s looking to get MP3 players added to the list from 2008 onwards… The Copyright Board will now consider the CPCC submission – and, indeed, those from other stakeholders – before announcing the 2008-2009 tariff later this year.”
Full article here.
Statement of Proposed Levies to Be Collected by CPCC on the Sale, in Canada, of Blank Audio Recording Media for the Years 2008-2009: http://macdailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/c10022007-b.pdf
CPCC Contact Information:
150 Eglinton Avenue East
Suite 403
Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E8
Phone: 416-486-6832 or 1-800-892-7235
FAX: 416 486 3064
inquiries@cpcc.ca
Related articles:
Apple Canada announces claims process for iPod levy refunds – September 27, 2005
Apple set to refund levies on iPods bought in Canada – August 08, 2005
Supreme Court of Canada: No levy on Apple iPods – July 28, 2005
Oh Those Canadian know-it-all again!
That darn Anne Murray (and her love god Valdy) are behind this. I just know it. Such dark forces at work!
Not again! This issue should just die! And if half a 30 gig iPod was used for data backup, does that part get taxed? They must have lots of time on their hands to scheme ways to get into your pocketbook… we’re taxed enough bugger off!
Bloody communists….
oh I know what started this up again.. Celine Dion is complaining again that she isn’t getting enough royalties!
“…the Canadian government has apologize on many occasions for Bryan Adams.”
If the CPCC wants to assume I’m a pirate and make me pay a tax when I upgrade my music players, I will never pay for music again. After all, I’ve already paid the tax to download to my hearts content right?
And did anyone else notice the similarity between CPCC and CCCP?
Dont confuse communism with good old fashioned greed.
Pfft! Money grabbing scum bags. They can take a freakin’ hike! Is it assumed that people are guilty until proven innocent?
“This is the Collective. Prepare to be assimilated. And your wallets, too.”
You know, I object to any proposal that assumes that I am a criminal and need to be punished.
TYou have it all wrong. They DON’T assume you are a criminal. They assume you are an idiot or at least a sheep who is going to pay a tax for the few who are criminal.
As someone mentioned on this site the last time this issue surfaced, if Canada does approve this tax then Canadians should feel free to pirate and share songs. They will have already paid their fee.
Let’s hope this issue dies soon.
Peace.
there’s a much better article by the CP here
there’s also an excellent description of the blank media levy here
I am confused – current levy?
I thought they shot down the tariff, and had given out refunds to people who had purchased an iPod during the time the old tariff had been collected (I got a check from an Apple subsidiary company for $25 plus tax for my 2nd gen iPod).
Why and how would they ever be able to pass such a thing again here? It was a colossal waste of everyone’s time, and I don’t think any artists received any benefits the first time around…
. . . when the Conservatives come to power; greed, political back-scratching and new and higher taxes are certainties when the fascists run the animal farm.
It was the Conservatives that brought in the GST, then wallowed in righteousness, like a pig in shit, when they lowered it by one fscking percent.
Those complaining the loudest probably voted for the bastards.
I think I should write to the CPCC and demand a cheque from them every month for my photos showing up on computer monitors. Where do I sign up?
While this tax is a money grab from honest people for the crimes of the music thieves, you must remember one thing.
Our Supreme Court ruled that downloading music for personal use was not a crime. Only offering copyrighted music for upload was a crime.
As a result, any tax I am forced to pay on MP3 players, blank CD’s and DVD’s and even computers, if the bastards get what they really want, is offset at least 10 fold by the downloads I make after each purchase.
They keep taxing the stuff I need to run my consulting business and I’ll keep downloading for free in retaliation.
Blame Canada.
I still haven’t got my money back from the last time that I had to pay an iPod tax before the courts overturned it. The fund thats been created by imposing a levy on recordable media has never been distributed to artists.
The CPCC is still “working” on a method to distribute money (now in the millions if not billions). Who’s benefiting? certainly not artists ( most who oppose this rip-off)
And yes its true, Canadians can’t steal music. We pay a “license” for our music everytime we buy a cassette,cd,or,dvd.
Exactly why I stay away from liberal communists…
I didn’t know ALL Canadian iPod users were music thieves? 😐
If I were forced to pay this I would not consider it a tax, rather a government sponsored license to take music rather than buy. I don’t mean steal, because you’re not stealing if you’ve already paid for it.
Followed on of the links Mike K provided (thanks!).
These are my favorite sections:
“Can I legally copy music CDs for my friends?
The simple answer is NO, but you can legally copy your friend’s music CD for YOUR OWN use.
….
Can I make private copies of movies, audiobooks, or software?
NO. The Private Copying Regime only addresses making private copies for your own use of sound recordings of musical works.”
Not trying to slam Canada – the US has laws in this area that are just as retarded.
The CPCC and the CRTC are together wholly responsible for the absence of content on Canada’s version of iTunes. They are heavily funded and backed by the music labels and media distributors in the hopes of maintaining a captive population that they can gouge to their hearts content.
Just sent this to the CPCC:
Dear CPCC,
What about us that don’t use the iPod for music? Many of us use it to transfer data, carry photos and the like but not music. Should we then be required to pay this onerous music fee you propose?
Because of the RIAA, CPCC, and the like, many years ago I completely stopped purchasing music; don’t even listen to it on the radio. Notice my life hasn’t changed for the worse and I live very well without purchasing music. Now i have more money for other more important things in my life than music actually.
Artists enter into a contract with you and the RIAA for a set remuneration for their work. They won’t get any more money with your proposal it isn’t in their contract. Your actions reminds me that in the US there is a extra cost for cassette tapes paid to the RIAA. They thought they needed more money because they thought everyone that purchased cassette tapes was stealing music. My self I never recorded music to tapes, my tapes were used for business never music. Very much I resent having to pay the extra money per tape to the music industry for something I don’t do. Most all my business associates thought the same way. We were miffed!
Many folks own huge record collections, yes records, along with tapes they purchased over the years. They’ve already paid for the music, why should they now have to pay again to play it on their MP3 player? In essence that’s what is proposed with your tax. This collection on the iPod along with other MP3 players is a very sad thing for MP3 users.
Thank you for reading this e-mail.
Sincerely,