Numerous tariff changes for copyright levies came into force at the turn of the year. In addition, there are even more formal requirements that the obligated companies must be observing especially at this time of the year. As in many countries, the first sales figures of the year must be submitted on time, in the appropriate format to the respective competent authorities.
It is common that continuously or exactly at the turn of the year, new tariffs and also new devices and storage media have to be considered in the reports. This is now the case in Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark or France, among others. Further changes are to be expected in the coming weeks and months. The Belgian legal representatives, for example, same as many of their colleagues throughout Europe, have long been pleading for extensions of the levy obligations. This is in line with the fact that this instrument to support rights holders was strengthened across countries last year.
At the same time, companies will also have to meet a variety of formal requirements for reporting sales figures. Above all, of course, the current forms must be used and the deadlines must be met. Even zero reports must be submitted punctually and also be formally correct, in some cases even fluctuations in sales must be announced. There are widely differing regulations on the reporting of returns, on exceptions and on obligations to provide information. There are some new developments in this regard as well. In the Czech Republic, for example, important organizational changes were made in 2020 for the handling of obligations: Some products only have to be reported to one collecting society, some to several. A complex structure with the division between product categories has emerged here but this is already known from some other countries.
An important issue for the obligated companies is also the conclusion of contracts. New is the possibility in Sweden to join an industry agreement. This means that there are now similar possibilities in Sweden for taking advantage of financial, organizational or administrative facilitations as in several other countries.
If you would like to be kept informed of all developments, please book our Alert Service: copyright@1cc-consulting.com