Private copying levies ‘a must’

The panel discussion, which was organised by the Algerian Office of Copyrights and Related Rights (ONDA), concluded that private copying is an economic driver that is underused.

“Private copying collections have a vital role to play, especially in a changing digital environment,” the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) said in a statement.

“This form of remuneration applies to blank media and devices that allow the reproduction and storage of data. It is collected by collective management organisations, sometimes with the assistance of local government or customs.”

Last year, CISAC released the Private Copying Global Study which showed that royalty collections from private copying had increased in Africa, with most collection efforts coming from Algeria.

Another report concentrating on global collections by CISAC member societies said private music copying in Africa contributed €6m ($7.4m) to a total of €59m in 2016 – a 75% increase from the €3.2m generated in 2012.

In comparison, private music copying collection in Europe contributed €264m to a total of €4.2bn generated in 2016. The global total for private copying was €374m in the same year.

CISAC says levies on private copying are crucial in developing countries with weak copyright environments where physical sales are dominant.

“In such markets, a system that ensures payments for private copying that cannot be effectively licensed or monitored can generate revenues that would otherwise simply not be paid,” CISAC said.

CISAC also highlighted the lack of implementation of laws to regulate private copying.

“In many countries, creators do not get paid where they should,” it said in the Private Copying Global Study. “This can be due to a lack of a legal framework or poor implementation of existing laws. As the study shows, only 74 countries have laws that recognise private copying levies and among those only 38 have implemented an effective collection system.”

The study said 47 out of 54 African countries had a private copying exception as part of their domestic legislation. Only Algeria, Botswana, Burkina Faso and Kenya had a provision for private copying levies and collection mechanism to ensure remuneration.

Read the study here and report here.