Wolfram Kühn
Recent Posts
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 ...
18
Dec 2023
Sanctions for SCIP violations
On 18 , Dec 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
With the entry into force of the revised German Chemicals Act on 24 November 2023, the handling of substances of very high concern (SVHC) will become more binding. Among other things, the establishment of a national Poisoning Register has been included in the Chemicals Act (ChemG). In addition, the tracking of missing or incorrect notifications of ...
11
Oct 2023
Copyright Levies: Rethinking Game Consoles?
On 11 , Oct 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Game consoles are currently subject to copyright levies in some countries, only. Manufacturers and importers usually do not have to include the remuneration for private copies in the sales price for functions of the device that enable copying and storing of copyrighted content. Consoles have often not been covered by legal provisions, or have ...
15
Aug 2023
Copyright Levy Obligations for Refurbished Devices Always Existed
On 15 , Aug 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
It comes unexpected to many companies that copyright levies are also imposed on refurbished and remarketed cell phones, tablets, PCs, hard drives, etc. However, it is meanwhile a well-known practice. 1cc has been providing information on this issue for a long time: More and more countries are taking a clear position on the subject of the levy ...
21
Jun 2023
Online Sellers Accountable for Copyright Levies in Greece
On 21 , Jun 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
Grasping the extent of copyright levy obligations for distant sellers under EU-law and national legislation has always been challenging. The obligation to report distant-sales of certain IT and CE equipment and payment of the respective copyright levies due through online-trade was only taken into account a few years ago. The European Court of ...
10
Feb 2023
Many Changes in Copyright Levies for 2023
On 10 , Feb 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
As in all previous years, many tariffs and other regulations for copyright levies changed at the turn of the year. Some adjustments were already foreseeable at an early stage. These include the tariff revisions in Austria, Denmark and the Netherlands. The companies concerned were able to incorporate these into software, processes and product ...
31
Jan 2023
Extended Producer Responsibility for Copyright Levies
On 31 , Jan 2023 | In | By Wolfram Kühn
French refurbishers are currently creating a stir through an initiative aimed at online marketplaces: The aim is to hold platform operators responsible for the compliance of providers hosted by them with the applicable laws. This also includes refurbished smartphones in the form of copyright levies. At the low price level of refurbished products ...