Copyright Levies in UK: Private Copy Exception Entered into Force

As of October 1, 2014, British users are allowed to make copies of legally owned works for their individual private use. However, it is not allowed to share the copy within a familiar circle. This new private copying exception has been approved by the British Parliament in July 2014 as an amendment to the British Copyright Act which was under revision for years.

It is assumed by the Legislator that this new right for private copying will not cause any major harm to the right holders (authors and artists of copyrighted works) by spreading the copies in a private sphere, which cannot be supervised by any authority. A compensation system with levies on CE-blank media or equipment and reprography devices, which is common practice in 22 out of the 28 European Member States, is therefore not foreseen by the British legislator. Thus, the decision of UK remains highly debatable, especially for the authors associations. Further discussions on this issue might be inevitable in the future.

REACH Annex XIV: First decision granting an authorisation

The European Commission issued on 9 August 2014 its first decision to authorise a specific use of plasticiser Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) during the diffusion bonding and manufacture of aero engine fan blades.

According to Decision 2014/C 260/10 the risk is adequately controlled in accordance with Article 60(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. Furthermore, there are no suitable alternatives at present and search for technically feasible alternatives is ongoing under a 5 to 10 year research programme. The authorisation is valid until February 21, 2022. Holder of the authorisation is Rolls-Royce plc in the United Kingdom.

1cc Presentation at E-Scrap 2014

1cc consultant Ofira Varga will participate at E-Scrap 2014, the largest electronics recycling conference in North America, taking place October 21 to 23, 2014 in Orlando, Florida. In her presentation, she will give an overview about current e-scrap legislation in all Latin American countries, with an in-depth look at Colombia and Costa Rica.

Date: October 22, 2014
Time: 1:30 – 3:00 pm
Speaker: Ofira Varga, 1cc
Place: Orlando, Florida

Further information:
www.e-scrapconference.com

REACH Annex XIV: Nine New Substances Added

Nine new substances were added to the Authorisation List (Annex XIV) of the REACH Regulation on August 19, 2014. These Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) had been prioritised by ECHA in January 2013 and are used, for instance, as solvents, anti-corrosion or curing agents.

The sunset dates range from August 22, 2017 to January 22, 2019. If manufacturers want to use one of the newly added substances after the sunset date, they have to apply for an authorization 18 months before the respective sunset date.

With these nine new entries, the Authorisation List currently contains a total of 31 Substances of Very High Concern.

Link to the news substances as listed in the Annex of Commission Regulation (EU) No. 895/2014.

WEEE Germany – Stiftung EAR changed factors for calculating guarantee amounts

The German Stiftung EAR has checked the guarantee parameters stated in rule ear 02-003. As a consequence, the medium disposal costs and the presumed return rates were partly changed. The new values are valid for the calculation of guarantee amounts for months of placing on the market as of January 1, 2015.

http://www.stiftung-ear.de/index_ger.html

UAE: Various Requirements for Lighting Products

In UAE, lighting products have to fulfil a lot of requirements regarding energy efficiency, hazardous chemicals, and electrical safety. On December 31, 2013 the cabinet of UAE released Decision No. 34/2013, amending the Technical Regulation 28-11-2012 “On the requirements for approval and registration of lighting products”. The requirements of the Technical Regulation became obligatory on July 1, 2014. Regarding energy efficiency, lighting products which are imported into UAE have to be labelled accordingly. Existing products on the market will be tolerated until the end of 2014. As of January 1, 2015, non-compliant products are banned from the market.

Products in scope:

• Incandescent lamps ≥ 16W (watts)
• Linear fluorescent lamps
• Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs)
• Halogen lamps
• Light emitting diode (LED) lamps
• Luminaires and Control gears for general lighting purposes.

Printer cartridges with electronic components in scope of German ElektroG

Toner and ink cartridges which include electronic components are considered to be in the scope of the German ElektoG (independent from the transposition of the WEEE Directive).

This is the result of a discussion between representatives of German Umweltbundesamt (environmental protection agency), the German Stiftung ear (national WEEE register) and the industry association BITKOM on August 5, 2014.

Producers or distributors who bring toner or ink cartridges on the market which need electric current or electromagnetic fields during their use must register the company and the cartridges at ear, submit the obligatory quantity reports and mark their devices with the crossed-out wheeled waste bin.

This interpretation of the German ElektroG with respect to toner and ink cartridges with electronic components is valid immediately and can be subject to enforcement practice of local authorities.

The “new” interpretation is in line with the concept of German Stiftung ear, while industry has argued to continue to consider toner and ink cartridges as supplies material which is not in the scope of German ElektroG. This interpretation was common understanding in the past. Competent authorities are expected to examine more closely compliance with the new interpretation beginning next year, according to BITKOM.

Additional Copyright Levies with regard to Streaming Services?

Streaming services for video and audio have come in the focus of EU authorities in terms of copyright levies. EU authorities want to generate additional revenue for streaming services. 1cc has recently examined in detail what kind of claims relating to streaming and cloud services are being discussed.

Although the new streaming services require an access device like PC, Tablet or Smartphone, it usually does no longer result in a private copy: Streaming enables listening to music and watching videos without buying the music clip or the video as a file (download) and/or as hardcopy on a CD, DVD, etc.

But instead of adapting the existing levy systems or reducing the levies because less private copies will arise, thoughts of EU bodies and French socialist government, for instance, are moving in a completely different direction. Recent reports consider to apply taxation to further devices and to charge digital services in addition. This open question will be part of future negotiations with the rightholder organisations.

1cc Webinar: New Obligations for Online-Sellers

The webinar of 1cc on 22 July 2014 is directed especially to online-sellers: We will inform you about current developments in the German consumer law (“Verbraucherrecht”) and the revision of the WEEE Directive 2012/19/EU (WEEE Recast), additionally we will give you practical advice for implementation.

Date: July 22, 2014 at 3 pm

Speaker: Katrin Beisswenger, 1cc

Sign up: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8197346628218407426.

Participation in the webinar (in German language) is free. Since the number of participants in the webinar will be limited to 20 attendees, we recommend signing up until at least July 15, 2014.

1cc Webinar: WEEE 2 – Status of Transition in the EU

Together with the German Bitkom-Akademie, 1cc offers a webinar about „WEEE 2 – Status of Transition in the EU“ (in English language). The participants will get an overview about the status of implementation of the WEEE-Recast Directive 2012/19/EU, and its national specifications.

Date: 17.07.2014, 11 to 12 pm

Speakers: Katrin Beisswenger and Sandra Harris, 1cc GmbH

Please register at:

www.bitkom-akademie.de/seminare/datenschutz-compliance/weee-2-%E2%80%93-status-transition-eu

or send an email with the seminar title and your contact details to info@bitkom-akademie.de.

The webinar is free of charge. The number of participants will be limited to 10 people.