Toronto - The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal last week overturned a decision that would have extended the levies the country adds to the cost of blank discs -- to cover potential losses from media copying -- to digital audio recorders. The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC), which collects and distributes the blank disc tariffs to artists, had sought the expansion of the levy to include MP3 players and similar devices.

In its ruling, the Federal Court of Appeal said the Canadian Copyright Board, which instituted the levy, did not have the legal authority to certify the tariff.

"The CPCC is understandably disappointed with the Federal Court of Appeal's decision and will be considering its options," said CPCC spokesman David Baskin.

"The CPCC sought a levy on iPods and other MP3 players because they are used extensively for the purpose of copying recorded music and because the vast majority of the copying is not authorized.

In the absence of a levy, no one who is involved in the creation of the music receives any remuneration when their music is copied without their approval."

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/1xfmw (PDF: CPCC statement)

http://snipurl.com/1xfn0 (Billboard)