Agreement about new copyright levies in Germany

The Industry Association BITKOM and the Collecting Society ZPÜ have concluded a new agreement about the extension of copyright levies in Germany. According to the decision of the Arbeitskreis Urheberrechtsabgaben (Committee of Industry Associations and Collecting Societies) of 13 January 2010, the new contract, including new tariffs for USB-Sticks and Memory Cards, is released. The agreement closes an important gap in the levies system, which has been a cause of uncertainty among suppliers of such media. They can now rely on planning security for the next two years.

Moreover, the declaration is a clear indication of the trend that levies are charged for an increasing number of device categories. Especially in Central Europe, the collecting societies impose virtually universal blanket levies on both analogue and digital memory media, and on analogue and digital information technology and consumer electronics devices. This increases the profits of the collecting societies, but also the expenses of end users. The further development seems predetermined.

New tariffs for BITKOM members, the discount (20 %) is already included:

– USB-Sticks: 0.08 €
– Memory Cards: 0.08 €

The duration of the contract is from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2011; if it is not cancelled, the contract will automatically extend for one year.

Enrolment for BITKOM members:

In case the declaration is accessed until 31 May 2010, the accession shall take effect retroactively on 1 January 2010. After the expiration of this deadline, the declaration shall take effect at the beginning of the following semi-annual period.

The first date of reporting is 15 August 2010 and the first date of payment is the 31. October 2010.