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Japan to abandon iPod copyright fee

For years, legislators in Japan have wanted a portion of the price of a digital recording device (up to 3%) to go to recording companies, songwriters and artists. The so-called "iPod tax" has met opposition from electronics manufacturers, as you could imagine.

However, it looks like it's not going to happen. A group failed to create an agreement yet again this week, prompting official Masafumi Kiyota to say that "...there is virtually no hope for getting the legislation passed." Certainly good news for consumers.

Other electronic devices like minidisk players and DVD recorders have a copyright tax built into the price tag in Japan. The logic (if you want to call it that) is that consumers will use these devices to illegally acquire copyrighted material, so why not have them pay for it before hand, as a preemptive strike? Sounds to me like someone has contempt for their customers.

For years, legislators in Japan have wanted a portion of the price of a digital recording device (up to 3%) to go to recording companies,...
 

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Fred

I believe Germany has a quite similar law, very much intact, sad for the customer (as it won't reduce the money they make you spend on the actual license).

July 10 2008 at 9:39 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Paradoxcis

Many countries have a private copying levy. In exchange the consumer tends to receive more relaxed fair use provisions in local copyright legislation.

See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_copying_levy

July 10 2008 at 9:17 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Philz

I wouldn't say they have contempt for their customers. They just know what they do, and aren't out to sue them to extinction...

You obviously have not been to Japan or know there culture, but you can go to any CD rental store (all over the place) and rent a CD. I'd say 75% of the people that do is to put it onto a minidisc (no one uses CD players much in Japan, more MD or ..iPod).

At least the tax on MD players/discs are not noticeable at all, if anything I think it is just fine. Now what they want to do in the states, that is absurd... The ammounts are completly diffrent.

July 10 2008 at 6:46 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alex Land

You're saying that most ipod owners DON'T have illegal content on their devices? A policy like this makes perfect sense to me, especially if it means the RIAA will piss off.

Personally, I use a zune. It sucks having to deal with vmware fusion nonstop, but everything works perfectly aaand all my music is legal.

Hopefully apple negates the whole argument and does a similar system through itunes. I really think an entire generation of music pirates would go legit.

July 10 2008 at 6:38 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
5 replies to Alex Land's comment
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