Letter to Prime Minister Morgan Johansson regarding the private copying levy

IT&Telekomföretagen and the Swedish Electronics Industry have taken note of the Government's response to Lotta Finstorp's written question regarding the private copying levy. It refers to the ongoing review of the copyright regulations at EU level and that this work should not be anticipated.

Unfortunately, we fear that it is a misconception that the EU review will affect the design of the private copying levy. The European Commission has stated in stakeholder dialogues that there will be no initiatives on private copying. This is because Germany and France, among others, do not want it. In concrete terms, nothing has been done since the Vittorino report in 2013. In the proposals made by the European Commission in 2016, private copying was only peripherally addressed. In addition, several Member States - regardless of the EU review - have in recent years made more or less radical changes to their private copying systems. This is also entirely logical given the strange consequences that an outdated system can have for both consumers and businesses. The international perspective is developed in the attached annex.

In our view, there is no reason to delay a review:

The Swedish law is not in line with EU law and will in any case need to be amended. Compensation is based on memory size when the European Court of Justice has ruled that it is the copyright holder's damage that should be compensated. It lacks provisions for reimbursement and the compensation scheme is completely without government control or involvement.

Private copying has virtually ceased, forcing consumers to pay twice. Paradoxically, while consumers have shifted to streaming digital services that are ostensibly not subject to the private copying levy, the levy collected could break records. This is because the levy is linked to memory capacity.

Sweden's consumers, businesses and cultural creators urgently need a new system for private copying that is fair and legally secure. Modern and updated legislation would help Sweden to better exploit the opportunities of digitalization in the long term.

Does the Government Offices have access to information on the EU review other than what we have described? Since you agree with the need for a review, we would appreciate a meeting with representatives of the Ministry of Justice to find out whether a Swedish review needs to await the work of the European Commission.

Anne-Marie Fransson, Director of the IT&Telecom Association
Klas Elm, CEO Electronics Industry