Wolfram Kühn
Recent Posts
02
Dec 2024
Still a patchwork: VAT Application to Copyright Levies
On 02 , Dec 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Several aspects of the French copyright levy system are currently under scrutiny. While the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes DGCCRF) of the Ministry of Economy is examining the financial flows, the Directorate General of ...
30
Oct 2024
Legal Stalemate: Copyright Levies for commercially used Devices once again under Review
On 30 , Oct 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
The question of whether copyright levies as compensation for private copying should also be imposed on commercially used products has always been controversial. Should professional users, authorities, or social institutions pay these levies for PCs, hard drives, or copiers? Are they exempt from payment, or should they pay a reduced levy? These ...
21
Aug 2024
Initiative for Copyright Levies in Canada
On 21 , Aug 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Of course, there is an ongoing debate in Europe about new device levies. But not adapting the scope of copyright levies on devices and storage media at all is not a solution either. This is because revenue for the creative industries would fall rapidly, and an entire economic sector would shrink. Creative professionals are working to counteract ...
02
Jul 2024
Finland discusses a return to copyright levies: a new path to fair compensation?
On 02 , Jul 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
A fierce controversy is raging in Finland over the level of remuneration for private copying – mainly because the government wants to drastically reduce it. According to a study from the creative industry, this remuneration for authors and other rights holders should be significantly increased. This is because private copying has by no means ...
15
May 2024
Copyright Levies for Game Consoles – the next step
On 15 , May 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
A raid – this is how one reporter describes the publication of new copyright levies for games consoles, digital toys with integrated memory, virtual reality, data glasses with integrated memory ,and media centres ("high-performance multimedia hard drives" or NAS in Austria). From a factual point of view, this is not an inaccurate description of ...
13
May 2024
Producer Responsibility for Refurbishers
On 13 , May 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Now it is the European platforms and refurbishers themselves who are making a new attempt to oblige sellers to comply with the rules: in a self-disclosure (Back Market) or in stricter terms of delivery (Rakuten, Cdiscount and others), all sellers of refurbished smartphones and tablets are to state whether they pay copyright levies. This applies in ...
12
Apr 2024
Austrian Court Affirms Copyright Levies on Cloud Storage
On 12 , Apr 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Copyright levies are likely to be paid for cloud services after all – this was recently denied by a German court. The Austrian Commercial Court in Vienna has now ruled against the German company Strato AG (Ref.: 43 Cg 29/19s - 34). The company must provide comprehensive information about the cloud services it has been offering in Austria since 1 ...
27
Feb 2024
German Court Denies Copyright Levies on Cloud Storage
On 27 , Feb 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Cloud services do not have to pay a copyright levy, the Munich Higher Regional Court has ruled. The court made this decision following an action brought against Dropbox by the Zentralstelle für private Überspielungsrechte (ZPÜ) and the collecting societies it represents (case no.: 38 Sch 60/22 WG e). According to the judgement, cloud services such ...
22
Jan 2024
Levies on Refurbished Devices in court
On 22 , Jan 2024 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Around forty French and foreign refurbishers are being prosecuted in France because of copyright levy obligations on refurbished devices. Those companies had been initially approached and asked to submit their figures for all devices sold in France. The claims being made against them range from several hundred thousands to several million euros. ...
20
Dec 2023
Changes to copyright levies in 2024
On 20 , Dec 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Numerous changes to copyright levies for electronic products in Europe are expected as of 1 January 2024. Some of these include annual adjustments to tariffs, whilst others are simply common practice and some are already foreseeable today. The sooner companies take account of these changes in software, processes and product prices for 2024, the ...