(Toronto) The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) expressed disappointment this afternoon at simultaneous news conferences in Montreal and Toronto, with the 2003 rates tabled this morning by the Copyright Board.“The Copyright Board’s decision is a very important one because it confirms that Canadians continue to acknowledge the right of creators and artists to live from their work, like every other  hardworking individual,” commented Claudette Fortier, Chair of the Board of Directors for the CPCC.

“However, I must admit that it is also somewhat disappointing and perplexing.  We are living through a time in which there is unprecedented access to content and therefore we must be more conscious of the rights holders and creators.” The Copyright Board’s decision freezes all existing private copying levies at their current levels.

The current levies of 29¢ on audio cassette tapes of 40 minutes or longer (no levy applies to tapes of shorter length), 21¢ on CD-Rs and CD-RWs and 77¢ on CD-R Audio, CD-RW Audio and MiniDiscs will remain in effect until the end of 2004.

The levy has been extended to include non-removable memory permanently embedded in digital audio recorders (such as MP3 players) at $2 for each recorder with a memory capacity of up to 1 Gigabyte (Gb), $15 for each recorder with memory capacity of more than 1 Gb and up to 10 Gbs, and $25 for each recorder with memory capacity of more than 10 GBs.

“We are very pleased that the Copyright Board of Canada has agreed to include iPods and similar devices in setting rates for 2003 and 2004,” responded Lucie Beauchemin, Vice Chair of CPCC. “Despite the freeze, rightsholders have made some gains and that is very important to us.”

The private copying law came into effect in 1998 in recognition of the fact that Canadians do a lot of copying for their own use in the privacy of their home. The levy was put in place to ensure that the rights holders of recorded music receive some compensation for their work and investment. The first private copying tariff to be approved under the new law came into effect in December of 1999.

From 2000 to 2002 the tariff generated $59.3 million in revenue. Of that amount $54.4 million was available for distribution to authors, performers and makers of sound recordings. CPCC anticipates that by year’s end, it will have distributed the bulk of the $28 million collected in 2000 and 2001 and will have made a good start on distributing the $26 million available for  distribution from the levy in 2002.

The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) is a non-profit agency charged with collecting and distributing private copying royalties. Established in 1999, CPCC is a collective of collectives that represent music authors, music publishers, recording artists and record companies.

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For more information contact: Catherine Allman or Julie Wright
hawkestone communications – public affairs
tel. (416) 485-4606
email: [email protected]