Dutch copyright fee on electronics is too low, content owners say

Fee up to �5 per device is too low, apparently.

Earlier this week, the Dutch authorities decided to OK a levy on the sales of consumer electronics equipment - namely computers, smartphones, set top boxes, audio and video equipment and hard drive storage - to cover losses for content creators from "home copying."

The fee varies, but is as high as � for a new PC, for example. According to two groups representing the content industries, Buma/Stemra and Stichting Thuiskopie, the fee of �5 is actually too low.

This appears to be a direct contradiction of figures from accountancy firm PriceWaterHouseCoopers, which estimated the loss from home copying in the country at about �12.1 million. By comparison, the new levies are expected to generate about �27 million.

A Dutch law passed in 2005 also introduced levies on purchases of blank media and MP3 players. Content owners now feel that newer technology is leading to far more home copying, and much higher losses.

Written by: James Delahunty @ 27 Oct 2012 11:54

elbald90

does the greed ever stop?

28.10.2012 03:47 #1

xboxdvl2

no different from the 10% gst we have to pay on products we buy here.

i have the big screen tv,a ps3 and im gonna surround sound to go with it soon hopefully.car still runs smooth and computer still works but its a bit outdated.

28.10.2012 05:58 #2

KillerBug

It could be a 100% levy on new equipment and a levy on blank media that made copies more expensive than originals...and they would still want more money. After all, they can't be bothered to make subtitles for the Dutch market, so they need to make up the lost revenue by some other method.

29.10.2012 02:08 #3

blaster4

I live in the Netherlands and I buy my stuff from outside the country. A pity that Dutch shops are losing sales because of this copyright fee legislation but I'm not losing any sleep over it. They shouldn't be so f***ing greedy!

8.11.2012 19:05 #4

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