French legislators have now finally paved the way for copyright levies on refurbished devices (i.e. second-hand or second-life devices). In more concrete terms, this means that a separate tariff catalogue will apply in France to used smartphones and tablets, that are tested for functionality, data-cleaned and repaired if necessary, with tariffs of up to almost 10 euros per item, taking effect from 1 July 2021.
The levy on used equipment is controversial in several respects: for practical and legal reasons, but increasingly also for environmental reasons. After all, the further use or reuse of products is essentially desirable. However, an obligation to pay a levy makes corresponding business models more difficult.Thus, the agreement on refurbished smartphones and tablets was also controversial in France. The tariff catalogue for refurbished devices is now a little more than a third lower than the tariffs for new devices. However, companies are faced with both the task of determining the currently applicable tariff for each device and determining whether the appliance is subject to the levy at all according to its distribution channel, the previous commercial or private use, and the measures taken to refurbish it. Since it is common to replace the hard disk of a PC during refurbishment, the respective national regulations for new and used equipment could come together at the refurbisher.
In several countries there is an obligation to pay copyright levies for refurbished equipment, mostly on the basis of special agreements between the responsible authorities and companies. Not everywhere is a distinction made according to such a complex, yet market-driven model as in Germany or the Netherlands.
From the point of view of rights holders and their legal representatives, the consideration of second-hand equipment is understandable. In the electronics sector, refurbished equipment is playing an increasingly important role, also for sustainability reasons. In addition, large companies regularly replace their IT equipment. This means that many devices that are still in good working order are placed on the market. Currently, new equipment is also in short supply due to the global semiconductor shortage. With rising prices for new equipment, consumers as well as companies are looking for alternatives. In 2023, analysts from IDC estimate that used smartphones alone will be worth around 67 billion dollars worldwide.
So what do companies need to do? As with any other trade in equipment that can copy, duplicate and store, the obligations must be identified according to the distribution channel, the handling of the resulting tasks must be integrated into processes and then carried out continuously.
