Great maneuvers for the return of the “Tasca tax” on computers

The Ministry of Culture launches the market intended to gauge the practices of private copies on the hard disks of portable and stationary PCs, and even disks sold bare. The next step ? The possible subjugation of these media to this cultural royalty, even if the rights holders dispute that the game is up.

Are these materials going to be subject to the cultural license? Not necessarily, repeat in heart the beneficiaries, while behind the scenes is preparing the springboard for this new concert of perceptions in a gloomy context.

These beneficiaries saw a drop in revenue of 29 million euros last year, compared to 2018. And this should continue in 2020. One of them, SACEM, s’attend to a new collapse linked to the Covid crisis. The plunge would reach 25% according to expectations.

An untenable situation for these actors, accustomed to receiving these sums which they consider as so much remuneration when it is not an annuity, forgetting its compensatory essence: the private copying levy is a compensation intended to compensate the freedom for each person. physical duplications of works (music, films, series, writings, photos, etc.) acquired legally, without requesting prior authorization. When fewer media are sold, the collection area is reduced accordingly. And therefore the damage and its compensation are receding. Logic.

End of 2018, the administrative commission in charge of setting the scales and scope of this fee has introduced into its work program, highly suggested by the beneficiaries, new resources to be collected. The words were politely chosen, with the programming of a ” study of the functionalities, technical characteristics and private copying practices concerning other families of products not subject to remuneration for private copying ».

Behind the slightly hazy dressing, the target was confirmed during the following meetings: hard drives for stationary PCs, those for office PCs and even those sold naked in France. ” It is not yet certain that computers are subject to CPR “Relativized one of the representatives of Copie France, no later than June 23. Copie France is the civil society of rights holders, responsible for collecting this royalty which is then redistributed via collective management companies to rights holders.

This caution responds to a legal reality, but it is also due to historical reasons. All rights holders still remember the outcry that Catherine Tasca had known. In 2001, the tenant of Valois had supported the idea of ​​making the PC fall in the spectrum of the royalty for private copying, before causing a bronca.

« We do not plan to tax computers, which are not the exclusive medium of copying, and everyone will be attentive to the economic, industrial and societal consequences of decisions »Finally explained the Minister of Culture January 16, 2001, after reframing Lionel jospin. The day before, however, she explained in the press than ” the taxation of decoders, improved video recorders and computers, in short, any medium making it possible to record works is a logical extension of the negotiations undertaken throughout 2000 ».

Launch of a market on PC copying practices

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