IT&Telecom companies hit back at Copyswede

The industry association IT&Telekomföretagen strikes back at the copyright organization Copyswede, which in the last issue (number 34) of Veckans Brief criticized the electronics industry.

Copyswede's CEO Mattias Åkerlind spoke about the battle with the electronics industry over the Swedish private copying compensation scheme

Now he gets an answer from Pär Nygårds, business policy expert at IT&Telekomföretagen. He "questions the description of reality" that Mattias Åkerlind gives in the interview with Veckans Brief.

- It is not the case that either our members or those of the electronics industry "completely ignore the law". The fact is that we and Copyswede have different views on how the law should be interpreted. They believe that as of September 1, computers, among other things, will be subject to levies. This is something that both the industry and the Swedish government reject," says Pär Nygårds.

He elaborates:

- Another fact is that cassette tape tax is something that is becoming less and less relevant as media consumption is increasingly taking place via online services where remuneration to rights holders is already regulated in license agreements and no private copies are made. The factual basis on which Copyswede's unilateral new demands are based is clearly inadequate and goes in the opposite direction to how today's consumers access music and film.

Article published on Dagens Opinion 2013-11-07, opens in new window.