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Apple Sued in France for iPod Music Royalties
alex_guy_CA writes "A musicians rights group in France is suing Apple Computer for back royalties due from iPod sales. It seems in France, all CDs, hard drives, and the like owe musicians money in case any of it is used for piracy. Only Apple isn't paying up." I want compensation from sales of Microsoft Windows just in case it is used for spreading viruses.
"It seems in France, all CDs, hard drives, and the like owe musicians money in case any of it is used for piracy."
Does that mean that organizations like the RIAA are prohibited from suing music downloaders because the musicians have already been paid by the state (perhaps through some industry group), or is this just a tax?
Ahh see but in France they're not actually paying the tax while in Canada they are. I sure paid my $25 extra for my iPod last month and they clearly label that (bright red letters...yup).
Even that sounds like a reach. Their system is like that used in other nations where there is a fee on media that goes to artists no matter if their work is illegally copied or not.
The question that the article does not answer is if all/any HDD manufacturers pay the fee already. Guess what? If the fee was already paid by the manufacturer then Appled paid the fee already when they bought the drives. Not saying that is the case, but it is something to think about. Also, if no HDD manufacturer pays this fee then the threat is just as stupid as it sounds on the surface.
Eve Fairbanks says I drive a hybrid!LOL
The last time I checked that only applied to countries in which the medium was manufactured. It really stinks that such a fine peice of hardware is getting bad press of a trivial matter. IIANAL, but what is the legality of Apple having to pay for loyalties only applying to specific countries? Is this something that would be taken care of during the trade agreement?
Steal This Sig
Not all countries work the same way as the US. European countries know about international diplomacy and don't take everything personally. Prime example: When bird flu was found in Delaware and the EU banned imports of US poultry due to safety concerns, the US "retaliated" and banned certain European imports. How on earth you can retaliate over a safety matter is beyond me. Is Europe supposed to import the infected chicken so they don't upset the US?
This isn't a dig at Americans or the US, but rather the seemingly childish attitude the US has towards international relations. It seems the US is only prepared to use its "big boy voice" when it wants something, and as soon as it has it, it's back to "little boy voice" complete with huffs and pouting. Go figure.
In Denmark we have levies too, but we're not paying for piracy, we're paying for "fair use". (Not that we have much fair use left - Denmark has one of the strictest copyright regimes internationally)
The distinction is important. I resent the thought of paying levies on CD-Rs used to make backups of albums i bought fair and square. OTOH, if I were allowed to swap and burn music all I wanted I'd happily pay up.
Of course the politicians aren't interested in this distinction at all - to them it's more a matter of stopping the artists from whining. Squeaky wheel gets the grease, that's how politics work.
Any sufficiently advanced libertarian utopia is indistinguishable from government.
That's a little trite. One has nothing to do with the other, but it is interesting how laws like this in other countries don't generate the kneejerk reaction they do in the US. The supposedly liberal France and Canada both have such a law. Where are all the open-minded, rights-protecting leaders of such countries when those laws were passed?
Point is every country has some stupid laws. And we Americans have been laughing at the French since looooooong before 9/11. That probably started sometime in 1939 or 1940 at the latest. ;)
It's not a tax, it's a levy. Totally different thing in the eyes of the law.
The only issue I could think of, is if there is a double tax on the players... Such that if Apple is already paying a small tax for each drive they put in the iPod, then the retail sale shouldnt be taxed again. I doubt this is the case though.
The levy is added in to the retail price of the product. If I see CD-Rs for sale at $25, when I go to pay there's no extra levy added to that price, but there are the applicable sales taxes. It's not as bad as what you are assuming, though I'd rather not pay the levy to begin with.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
The US would shit its pants, as would the EU. That'd be thousands of jobs lost, support ended, etc. etc.
Three terms:
* Apple
* Linux
* Emminent Domain.
If MS folds all of a sudden, people can switch to Apple with new hardware, switch to Linux for extant hardware--or the government can just declare emminent domain, and start a new company with the rights to windows. (It'd probably be a stock market purchase, with the money from the stock going right to the "fair price" for MS.)