(Toronto) – The Copyright Board of Canada has issued the Private Copying Tariff 2011. Under the new tariff, the Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) will continue to collect the private copying levy on blank CD-Rs at the same rate since 2008 (29¢).

2011 Tariff Document

As of January 1, 2011 there will no longer be a levy on  MiniDiscs.

Private copying is the subject of Part VIII of Canada’s Copyright Act, the federal statute that sets down the general legal framework for copyright protection in Canada. Copyright is the legal mechanism by which those who create original works, like music, are able to be paid for that work. As copyright holders, creators have a right to control certain uses of their work, and place conditions – like payment – on use by others. These payments take the form of royalties. To illustrate, performance of a song, a record sale or printing a musical score are all events that would trigger a copyright royalty. But unlike a publishing or record deal, private copying cannot by its very nature be managed and accounted for by contract: private copies are made spontaneously by people in the privacy of their own homes. That’s why private copying receives special treatment in the legislation. Permission does not have to be sought; private copying is simply permitted. But in exchange, the Act sets up a system to collect and distribute royalties to those with rights in the music that is copied. True to general copyright principles, legislators have ensured that creators and others with copyright in recorded music are able to be paid for use of their work.

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

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For more information contact:

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