[LINK] France to tax I.T. devices to raise copyright levy

[George Michaelson]

  >   
  > Oh god. here we go. What is it about tax you don't like paying?
  
  I don't mind paying tax, but I do object to avaricious "content industries"
  trying to foist additional revenue streams on the public.

This one is a government initiative. It looks to wind up funding local
artists and probably equalizes revenue better than Kylie Minogues Lawyers
do. I don't doubt richer artists score better, but I bet they do wind up
cross-subsidising the developing side of the industry more this way.
  
  > If there is an IP industry, and its hurt by people copying, then the low
  > levy to fix the problem is better than the copy protection rubbish we're
  > being foisted with. In my opinion. 
  
  You are still left with the implicit "CDR user == pirate", which simply
  isn't true. 

No, its an impost on all CDR users, irrespective of what they do with the
blank, because people want to copy IP protected content and there doesn't
seem to be a good way round protecting the rights holder, and the publics
desire to copy. 
  
  Even in the cases where it is true, it is rarely a problem, the people
  who are copying are likely to be too cheap to buy the content in the 
  first place. Large scale commerical piracy (cheap CDs from SE Asia) 
  is what 'hurts' the industry and it is not going to be affected by a
  media tax.

But emerging @home personal use copying, which can only grow, and emerging
forms of copying like to hard-drive video, TiVo, inter-media conversion etc
can move on. Right now, its dedicated amateur only, and its all covered by
a crust of FUD an inch thick. legalize it, accept a $cost, and move on I say.
  
  Do you think that a tax like this would stop them trying to push for more
  embedded copy protection? I think not.

I think it would make it a damn sight easier to defeat government mandated
laws on copyright device circumvention.
  
  Geez - Which is better? My money going to prop up a health system broken
  though incompetence and poor funding, or lining the pockets of a greedy
  few who want to erode fair use and charge us for media we don't use for
  their tripe anyway?
  
Yea, it was a low comparison. but the principle stands: if we decided as
a society to toss in the towel on copyright enforcement and live with
a levy, then the levy just becomes like any other tax. How it gets disbursed
becomes a problem, I agree. But I don't see rights agencies and ARIA as
having much role there. Certainly not the current boot-in-the-door role
where they foist a mafia-charge on small business for turning on a radio
or playing a CD in the shop.

cheers
	-George

PS did anybody notice that in the UK, the rights agencies have decided
to flatten the payment model for orchestral and non-classical music? I feel
a bit divided here. On the one hand, as an aficionado of older music I want
the orchestras to get better money. On the other, assuming anti-elitism
is appropriate here, if millions more people listen to soft rock stations
then don't the musak purveyors have a better claim? problems problems...

--
George Michaelson         |  DSTC Pty Ltd
Email: ggm@dstc.edu.au    |  University of Qld 4072
Phone: +61 7 3365 4310    |  Australia
  Fax: +61 7 3365 4311    |  http://www.dstc.edu.au