A new economic study made public today by GESAC highlights the economic, cultural and social advantages of the systems of private copy levies currently in force in the majority of Member States. These systems have a positive impact for cultural and creative industries; they are also of benefit to consumers who can thus copy works and to the industries manufacturing consumer electronics whose development they stimulate. Their impact on the development of the Information Society and, more generally, on economic growth is positive. The study by the Spanish firm ECONLAW also emphasizes that, in the current context, there is no other satisfactory alternative solution to remunerate authors whose works are copied.

According to Véronique Desbrosses, Secretary General of GESAC, "This is one of the most complete and objective analyses of private copy levies undertaken to date. It demonstrates that private copy levies provide the only system taking into account in a satisfactory way the interests of authors/composers, consumers and the industry. Thus, this study confirms the relevance of the system in force today".

One of the ECONLAW study’s conclusions is that DRMs (Digital Rights Management) do not provide a convincing alternative. The study reveals the technical limitations of DRMs, their higher cost, their poor penetration in the market and their drawbacks from the consumers’ standpoint.

The study also emphasizes that the total sums collected for private copy amount to some 5% of the sales of consumer electronics. Thus, it is highly unlikely the levies will affect the profitability of these products, even if manufacturers were to choose not to pass on the cost of the levies to consumers.

Authors’ societies consider nonetheless that it is possible to improve the way the current system function in the internal market. Concrete measures aiming to realize this goal were presented at a meeting organized on 8 November by GESAC with the Member States, the Commission and the European Parliament: more rigorous declaration procedures at borders, reinforced cooperation between partners, clarification of rules governing remote sales to make certain, in particular, that payment of the levies be the seller’s responsibility and not the consumer’s, etc. Véronique Desbrosses declared: "We are pleased to provide new solutions, thereby contributing constructively to a debate monopolized until now by the industry. GESAC will examine with interest the observations and remarks made during today’s workshop".

For further information, please contact:
GESAC : Véronique Desbrosses, Secretary General of GESAC, or Victoriano Darias, legal consultant, at +32 (0)2 511 44 54
GPLUS : Stéphanie Pochon, +32 (0)2 282 96 39 (direct line); +32 (0)485 95 46 46 (mobile) / Anna Michalowicz, +32 (0)2 238 10 94 (direct line); +32 (0)496 73 41 64 (mobile)