Recast cassette tax - a case in point

Most people who own a mobile phone, a tablet, a smart watch or any other electronic product probably don't think of it as being "particularly suitable for private copying". Most people who use mobile phones, tablets, computers and other devices do so for completely different reasons, and media consumption also takes place via streaming services, funded by fees, advertising or even public service broadcasting. The market has simply found ways to make music, movies, TV shows and other moving images available to users while ensuring that the copyright holders who created the works are compensated.

Nevertheless, Swedish law states that these products are in fact intended for private copying ( not to be confused with piracy). As a result, these goods are subject to a specific private copying levy, which is added to the purchase price. The amount of the levy depends on the storage capacity of the product. This levy, or 'cassette tax', was introduced in the 1990s to compensate copyright holders for the income lost when users copied LPs to cassette tapes. When MP3 players and the like made it possible to record and 'listen' to material, the tax was transferred to these products.

A lot has happened since the cassette tax was introduced in the last century - not least as a result of digitalization. The internet, smart phones, digital meetings, NFT and streamed concerts and theater performances have become commonplace for all of us. The cassette tax has lived on overtime. So proposals to update and modernize the legislation are not a day too soon.

The report's proposal contains many positive elements, not least that fees should be charged to cover the compensation to which copyright holders are entitled. In other words, the total amount of compensation should be determined first and only then should a decision be made on which products should be covered and what fees should apply. In addition, the report proposes that storage capacity should not play a role in the size of the fee. In addition - and very importantly - it is proposed that copyright holders who receive compensation in other ways (e.g. via remuneration from streaming services) should no longer benefit from this compensation.

Yes, there is much in the new proposal that changes and improves the conditions and, not least, makes the system more understandable for the general public and more transparent and predictable for the industry. Even if we users continue to pay a fee for the products and the report does not propose that Sweden should follow the example of Finland, Norway and Iceland, for example, and adopt a model where the state takes greater responsibility, we see it as a major improvement.

May we now only wish that the government will put full speed ahead and process the proposals so that the country that aspires to become the first to use the opportunities of digitization can also get a copyright law adapted to a digital world - instead of one characterized by cassette tapes and LPs

Link to the report (Ju 2020:18): The future of the private copying levy - Regeringen.seb