Copyright levies for consumer electronics now also effective in Germany

German industrial associations and collecting societies have reached an overall agreement to apply copyright levies on various consumer electronic devices. Following years of negotiations, manufacturers, importers and dealers have finally attained clarity as to their obligations and the amount of levies due; charges of up to 12, 00 Euro per product has to be taken into consideration in the context of the financial planning, administrative process and pricing.

In order to compensate for legal copying of copyright-contents such as music, film, photos or texts for private use, copying machines, printers and IT products, in particular, are now subject to levies in Germany. The new agreement covers a broad spectrum of consumer electronics. It includes DVD recorders, MP3 players, TV sets and set-top boxes with fixed memory or recording via USB interface.

The agreement applies retroactively as of January 1. 2008. Companies affected by the regulations may join the overall agreement for the past period until 31 May 2019.

For more information, please feel free to contact us at: copyright@1cc-consulting.com