ATTN Canadian iPod owners

[Gwarsbane]

Canadian iPod 'tax' not legal
http://p2pnet.net/story/3319

p2pnet.net News:- Mp3 players may soon cost less in Canada following a Federal Court of Appeal ruling that copyright levies on digital music players aren't legal.

Exactly a year ago, the Copyright Board of Canada froze private copying levies on recording devices and at the same time, hiked non-removable memory (such as in Apple's iPod) by $2 per device for up to one gig of memory, $15 for 1-10 and $25 over 10.


Now, the Court has ruled that the board, "properly held that the the zero-rating program has no statutory underpinning and that, accordingly, its impact ought not to be recognized in setting the levy," says a source, going on:

"The court decided the board couldn't impose a levy on memory in a device such as an iPod, and set aside the board's tariff in this respect. Put another way, once incorporated into a device, a recording medium becomes part of the device."

"While the decision is expected to lower the price of MP3 players, it will erode the stream of revenues to musicians at a time of widespread digital pirating," says a Globe & Mail report, continuing that a debate on whether or not copying music onto mp3 players now violates the Copyright Act immediately followed the decision.


For example, says the newspaper, Paul Audley, a Canadian Private Copying Collective consultant, maintains the ruling that mp3 players aren't a recording medium could technically place them into, "a kind of legal purgatory.


"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," the report states.

"The big impact of this is, if you got an iPod for Christmas, on Dec. 13 you were okay copying music on to it; on Dec. 15, you weren't.”


A lawyer representing makers of mp3 players, "scoffed at Mr. Audley's interpretation," says the report, adding:

"If that is true, then all music-copying equipment such as CD players, computers and tape recorders are illegal.”