(Toronto) – The Copyright Board of Canada today issued an interim Private Copying Tariff for 2008. Under the interim tariff, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) will continue to collect private copying levies at the current rate until the Copyright Board issues a final decision in 2008.

As with the previous four interim tariffs, the CPCC has decided not to collect any increases in levies retroactively when the Private Copying Tariff 2008-2009 is issued. The CPCC voluntarily waives retroactivity in order to prevent uncertainty for consumers and reporting companies alike.

“While rights holders are entitled to this remuneration, the CPCC understands that without this voluntary waiver, there would be uncertainty that might penalize consumers if reporting companies were to increase prices in anticipation of the increased levies and subsequently the levy was not increased by the same amount. In such circumstances, it would be impractical for reporting companies to return any excess levies collected to each individual consumer,” stated Annie Morin, Chair of the CPCC Board of Directors.

The Copyright Board is scheduled to hear arguments for the Private Copying Tariff 2008-2009 in April 2008. The proposed tariff for 2008-2009 can be found on the Copyright Board’s web site: http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca.

The CPCC is the non-profit agency that collects the private copying royalty and distributes it to its member collectives, which represent song writers, composers, music publishers, performers and record companies.

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For more information contact:
Alison Thompson
CPCC
tel. (416) 486-6832, ex. 221
email: [email protected]