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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."
Look...
How will canadian artists and record companies stay in business if everybody is going to rip them off and the government isn't going to help them by encouraging consumers to pay taxes to help their brother canadians.
You're all so selfish. I feel like moving south to the U.S.
Isn't it strange how Canada seems to have such a different attitude to copyright enforcement to America, when Europe seems to want to follow in the footsteps of American law? Canada is culturally more similar to America than Europe is, besides the obvious geographical proximity. Is this the Canadian government deliberately being contrary? I'd be interested to hear from some Canadians on the matter.
apterous.org
According to the article, the law doesn't include any text about MP3 players, so collecting levies on them isn't allowed. As in many decisions, it has been left to Parliament to make the final choice.
The short of it is that if lobbyists get their way, the levy will be back on MP3 players; all that's needed is for an amendment to the Copyright Act to be drafted and passed.
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)
Or there's always Ebay...if the US shipper agrees to indicate "Gift" on the box, you won't pay any taxes whatsoever.
.. and we have tax on CDR and tapes and other stuff for the longest time. However, the tax itself is not really meant to make copying legal. But instead, the tax were simply there to minimzes any damange that you might be doing! What if you are using the CDR for personal data only? You are technically not required to pay it. However, the process of recovering those tax are lenghty and trouble some. So most let it go. What I don't understand is. How could someone pentlies you for something you haven't done yet? I think this is where the system become flawed. Owning a tool and having the potiental of doing something is NOT a prove of being guilty. You need to have prove of using it in illegal means! Sadly enough, 80% of those devices only DO use them illegally. So the fact actually justifies the tax, even if it doesn't really make sense. The only question I got is, where did those money went? Did they actually give them to any artists? If not, why even tax it?
Digital sharing of copyrighted music in countries which put a tax on CD-Rs, MP3 players, etc. is effectively legal, since you're paying for the priviledge of doing so whether you actually are or not.
Your post is funny but in all seriousness it's kind of odd that Canadians rant against the US music industry for its aggressive campaign against illegal file traders when in Canada, people have already been paying the music industry whenever they buy mp3 players and blank CDs. At least in the US, you get fined after breaking the law instead of beforehand in anticipation. I guess ignorance is bliss.
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.
Does this mean the Canadian music industry will have to make a living by suing its customers, like the US industry does?
this only removes the tax on MP3 players. the tax on blank cds and tapes remains. but hey, it's only $0.25. i can deal with that.
and the canadian court system already informed the CRIA (canadian RIAA) that they can take their ideas to sue and stick them where the sun don't shine, so this isn't gonna change that in a hurry.
upon the advice of my lawyer, i have no sig at this time
Hmm, so if we Americans started charging, say, a burglary tax to everyone we could not ever have to worry about going to jail for burglary. That sounds great, plea bargains before the act is even committed!
Nice comparison.... seriously! You do have a great point here....
On one hand, yes.. copying music is breaking the law, but on the other hand... the levy tax pays the record industry as a whole for their "losses" -- so there is a half-right and half-wrong to the concept of levies.
Ah, I love this Canadian mentally that has them believing that everyone here dies on the street because they are uninsured. Sorry, but it's a huge myth. Moreover, Canada caps its doctor's salaries so most of the really good doctors who specialize in the rare and complicated diseases that save people's lives come to the US because our schools are better and you actually get paid properly for your skills. I'm not going to open the socialism debate, but it certainly has its own set of flaws.
The Canadian Mentality is a feeling that everyone 'deserves' to be given health care... no matter what their circumstance. I agree with this concept, obviously...
What you see from Canadians regarding the thoughts of people dying in the streets in the US, is because of fear -- I admit that the thought of a capitalist approach to health care is frightening to me, and it paints a confusing picture to many of us, as we could not imagine getting a second mortgage for a heart bypass (provided that said person doesn't have coverage, etc, etc)
Doctors in Canada do get severely capped, and mistreated, but that's not speaking for all of them. There are many fantastic surgeons, specialists, etc here who enjoy their work, get compensated well for it.. etc.
You must consider the opposite though, the family of a friend of mine moved up here from Ohio over 30 years ago because the parents wanted to work within our health system, because they felt that American Medicare was too oppressive.
So their are many opinions from different sides, I am not knocking the american system, but I personally do feel more comfortable and loyal to the ways of my own country.
That's why she was exported to Las Vegas. :-)
Browsers shouldn't have a back button!! It's all about going forward...
Whenever I investigate buying a new electronic device from the U.S., I cannot complete the transaction because the vendor will not ship to Canada. I've seen this on thinkgeek and amazon. I wonder if this is (one) bottleneck and the removal of the levy will allow cross-border shopping?
Egonis (155154) wrote:
> On one hand, yes.. copying music is breaking the law, but on the other hand...
> the levy tax pays the record industry as a whole for their "losses" --
> so there is a half-right and half-wrong to the concept of levies.
Except that in Canada it is legal to copy music for personal use
Not breaking any laws here.
"Hmm, so if we Americans started charging, say, a burglary tax to everyone we could not ever have to worry about going to jail for burglary. That sounds great, plea bargains before the act is even committed!"
:P That's a rediculous comparison especially since music trading here isn't even illegal.
Oh thanks for a great laugh!
"Ah, I love this Canadian mentally that has them believing that everyone here dies on the street because they are uninsured."
I didn't say anything about dying in the street. I'm talking about going broke because you got sick.
"so most of the really good doctors who specialize in the rare and complicated diseases that save people's lives come to the US because our schools are better and you actually get paid properly for your skills."
What I read was - "All of the doctors that do it for the money and not because they care go to the states" damn that's a real shame. Either way Doctors do make decent money here compared to other professions.
Originally this scheme was started with the rationale to capture revenue lost when you copied an album from a friend. Knowing there was no way to stop this or prosecute this, the entertainment lobby came up with a way to get paid for this "violation". At the same time the law was amended to allow private copying. A coup really. The industry allows a concession that was unstoppable and in return taxes all media.
Cue the internet music boom. Buisness as usual, time to go to war and kick in the doors of some file sharers, sue some grannies and single moms when there kids download music. But wait, that dang private copying amendment makes it a grey area.
Unfortunately what will happen next is there will be an attack on the "private copying" portion of the law. It will be changed, eventually we too will have RCMP raiding file downloaders. But of course the levies will stay as well.
The simple fact is we are in a corpocracy. The law is for the corporations. The certainly won't give up the revenue stream from levies but they will loby until they change the laws so they can sue.
Eventually we will have the worst of all possible worlds.
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.
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
Actually, I was surprised to see this on the front page of the news today (the Province, I think, for British Columbians).
Most articles of this nature usually end up being buried amongst other "lesser" news as technical mumby-jumbo etc etc.
It's really quite nice to see that not only has this stupid tax been repealed, but that the media are giving notice to it. I wish they'd do so more often when they try and slip these things in.
One thing I wonder though, as it mentions "keeping Xmas receipts" - is whether or not consumers can request a rebate on the tax if they've paid it already, as it's been ruled illegitimate.
But then we get back into the usual stupidity:
He said the Copyright Act clearly defines media that legally can be used for private duplication of copyrighted material and MP3 players no longer meet that criteria.
Sorry buddies, while this might mean you can't copy a disc from your friend, it certainly doesn't take away any rights I have to copy my CD to my own iPod. My music, my property, my right to do what I want with it (within my domain).
Canadian Doctors make a good amount of money. Next time you see your mechanic please ask him to help you remove your head from your ass.
[I live in Canada]
We are allowed to copy music for personal reasons. In exchange, a levy is placed on blank media.
All for the good.
And now, the appeal ruling is that MP3 players are not subject to the levy, because the Act doesn't mention them.
All for the good -- except that the Act may/will be changed to allow the levy.
Most MP3 devices do NOT facilitate the copying of music! If you can show me how to plug media into an iPod (for instance) to allow the iPod to function as a duplicator; or you are willing to GIVE your iPod to someone else, then the iPod should have the levy applied. If the iPod is capable of downloading music without another computer with media, it should be levied.
And here's the problem -- an iPod CAN'T download from the internet, and you WON'T be lending it out, and it CAN'T have media plugged into it.
About the best you can do is a player with a built-in FM radio, and the ability to record to a removed Flash device.
And the levy should be placed on the Flash media.
Not the players.
So, the ruling is good, but the REASON is wrong, because it opens up the possibility of a lobby to change the Copyright Act.
I just hope that when that happens, the politicians see their way clear to a correct ammendment (say, a levy on blank VCR tapes and DVD recordable media, and allowing personal copying of video).
Now, the joker that suggested that is was not OK to use your iPod on Dec 15, is basically full of it. The personal copying provision allows us to copy to ANY media that is commonly used for the storage of music. That would (by design) include your iPod. So suck it up -- that cannot be removed without changing the Copyright Act.
Ratboy.
Just another "Cubible(sic) Joe" 2 17 3061
will trade cheap recordable media for cheap prescription drugs--call me.
Actually, asshole, I'm Canadian and a musician, and 99% of the cds I burn are of MY OWN MUSIC (the remaining 1%, give or take a point, is data). So I'm paying the Canadian Music Industry for the right to burn my own music onto cd. And since the monies are distributed based on airplay and charts, I'm essentially paying money to my competitors every single time I make a new recording. Sound fair to you?
do not read this line twice.
1- actually no, it is not fair, thats why you have the right to get that money back, you can if you want ... Fill some forms...
... The thing is that its not clear if burning CD hurts or help sales. My original CD collection contains about 250 - 300 cd alot of them are the next or previous record of one i have burned. I would never have been willing to pay 20-25$ bucks for an artists i dont know about.
2- Im not discussing if the way the money is spent is okay.. I dont know about that ( you probably don't know yourself ). It would be great if it was
used to promote unknown talents like you... Actually Quebec gouvernment give a couple millions a year to promote new bands ( as you know cultural stuff/ art is provincial juridiction ).
3- Living in community is about giving and receiving. If you pay money to give food to prisonners is it fair? If you give money to lazy ass Social Security users is it fair? Its not only about fairness, A LOT of people are copying CD. I have about 100 burned copyrighted CDs im my collection, i would be happy if i pay a small cut to help artists and still getting those cdr cheaply, and i would be sad if my neighbor go to court for burning that brian adams CD
Artists that plays on the radio get the priviledge of being heard freely by alot of people. P2P give the power to anybody to be heard by alot of of people, Share your songs and sell your CDs you could be surprised....
And please be intelligent alot of those 12 years olds teen learn to love music with p2p, dont ask them to buy all your CD with their parents 5$ a week rent...
(sorry english is not my mother tongue)
Overuse of the Pumping Lemma causes blindness