Caveats: NONE
It is complex issue. For example the royalty fee is only applied to
blank CDs labeled for music. Those labeled for computers (which is
nearly all) are not subject even though they can have music burned to
them. MP3 players and CD burners in computers are not subject, but a
stand-alone music recorder for CDs (which are an increasing rarity) are
subject. The holes in the law are pretty big and series of lawsuits
have widened them. Still, some are upset that a few companies like Sony
(which used to only produce devices) have added media (Sony Pictures,
Sony Music) and essentially pay royalties on devices, and collect a
percentage back through claims to the fund based on their media (Not to
mention the sale of the media).=20
Even so it collects about $75M/year which is then distributed to
claimants (performers, directors, media companies, etc.) based on some
complicated rules but many artists benefit directly. The government
does not retain the money but essentially acts as an escrow agent so it
is not a tax. Many countries (e.g. Canada) have a direct tax on media
paid at the cash-register that also are disbursed to copyright holders.
Legally, you (as a private citizen for non-commercial, individual use)
can record anything you want on anything you buy with some exceptions
including:
--Rights holders can force you to agree to more restrictive terms with
licensing agreements that provide them more protection than the law. I
have already seen this on training videos and some other non-consumer
media.
--Rights holders can implement DRM which prevents you copying by forcing
you to use only devices that are licensed to decrypt that content and
which will refuse to allow other devices to record. Attempts to
circumvent the DRM are illegal under the DMCA because you have to break
their security. =20
As always ... I am not a copyright lawyer.
_J
___________________________________
Jason Johnson - Program Director
Web Services Branch - Walter Reed Army Medical Center Ingenium (ISO
9001:2000 certified)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of George Cohen
Oh, and BTW, it's not just the recording medium, it's on the recorder
too.
Since a computer is also a recorder, I would guess that each computer
you
buy includes a royalty charge too. (See the same site below.)=20
So, here's the question: SInce they are charging you for royalties on
anything you buy that can record, can you record anything you want on
anything you buy?
George Cohen
Chief Information Officer
The Walker School
700 Cobb Parkway North
Marietta, GA 30062
office 678-581-6913
cell 305-297-5543
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED=20
Caveats: NONE
[ For info on ISED-L see http://www.gds.org/ISED-L ]
Submissions to ISED-L are released under a creative commons, attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
RSS Feed, http://listserv.syr.edu/scripts/wa.exe?RSS&L=3DISED-L
