The Ministry of Justice believes the copyright fee added to the price of a new smartphone or computer could be higher because compensation must be fair and many people use their phones to record concerts.
When people go to a store, including an online store, and buy a smartphone, computer or, for example, an external hard drive from an Estonian company, they may notice that in addition to value-added tax, the price of the device also includes the so-called private copying levy.
The private copying levy is intended for Estonia’s music and film sector — that is, for authors, performers and producers. It serves as a kind of compensation to creators when, for example, a computer user downloads a song or film from the internet or goes to a concert and records a musician’s performance.
Even recording a short five-second clip on a phone to post on social media counts, according to a representative of the Ministry of Justice.
At present, every newly purchased smartphone or computer includes €3.50 in its price for this fee. However, representatives of authors wrote to the justice minister two years ago arguing that the payments made to creators are too low and should be increased.
Read more: ERR.EE
