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Canada Quashes Copyright Tax on MP3 Players
Rippy the Gator writes "The Globe and Mail says that consumers may soon be paying less for MP3 players because the Federal Court of Appeal ruled that special copyright levies applied to digital music players are not legal. You might want to keep those receipts if you're giving them as a Christmas Gift."
I always thought that this money will never be seen by the artists, and was essentially just a scam.
Ahhh...the great dumpster continuum. Many a free computer will be found there. -- sowth (748135)
I can speak about the going ons inside the house [since I don't really care to watch] but from a "consumer" standpoint I saw visible protests by stores. It wasn't uncommon to see "you pay more because of canadian levies" in shops as huge as FutureShop [equiv to the american BestBuy].
... Neither are the citizens since well I use my recordable media for software backups not music.
It was quite clear that the retail outlets weren't too happy about the levies.
However, the canadian music industry feels they "deserve" more money. Instead of actually, oh I don't know, earning the fucking money they'd rather guilt trip the citizens and pressure the house to bend to their whims.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
I'm a Canadian and this is bad news. I would prefer to have a levy on my mp3 player or any other device/recordable media.
Why? When the RIAC(dunno if that's what it's called or not just guessing) wants to start suing their customers, we point to the levy and kindly ask them to stuff it.
The Canadian way is to pay levys/taxes on everything so we don't have to worry about anything. Healthcare, perscription drugs, and social programs are just a few things that are subsidized or free because of levys and taxes. Sure people like to argue about how well the system works, but last time I checked people don't go backrupt when they get sick here.
I find it funny that the article stated, as a matter of fact, that the ruling would erode revenue to muscians. But even though there are probably tens of thousands of musicans in Canada, the journalist couldn't find even one to interview about the alleged hardship?
Does anyone have any real evidence that musicans actually get this money? Everything I've read about the music industry says they get zero.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
No, it was ruled that the levies were illegal because only Parliament (the upper house) has the authority to enact such a levy, not the Copyright Board of Canada. Whether or not the levies make sense or are appropriate is not the issue. This ruling was simply about legal jurisdiction, and I am very sure we have not seen the end of this.
So you think it best to just pay the exploitative tax so you can sleep better? I think it is insane to punish ALL consumers for the trespasses of a few.
Whats next? Why stop at the recording industry.
The government should not be confiscating money from the people to pay to corporations or similar bodies. The government should be protecting the consumer from them, not abetting them.
I'd rather have the RIAA or similar breathing down the necks of people who break the law than having to pay so some schmuch can download stuff without paying for it.
It is NOT the same as paying taxes for medical care or such. That is exactly the line of thinking the RICA/RIAA would love people to believe.
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