The organizations representing undersigned rights holders (authors, performers and producers) condemn the decision of representatives of industrialists to boycott once again the meetings of the Private Copy Commission to attempt to paralyse its action.

Renewing a strategy already used in 2005 to delay a decision on the iPod Nano and weigh on the discussion underway on a European level, this “empty chair policy” is resorted to again here, significantly, at the very moment the European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market, Charlie McCreevy, is reopening the discussion on private copy levies in Europe.

The signatory organizations are reasserting on their side their attachment to the Private Copy Commission’s normal peaceful operations and recall that its composition respects a principle of equal representation, since half of the members represent beneficiaries of the remuneration and the other half represent those who must pay the levies: equipment manufacturers and importers and consumer associations. Moreover, the Commission is chaired by a representative of the State, to guarantee the interests of the general public.

The signatory organizations also recall that this Commission has always worked in seriously, precisely and thoroughly, making use, whenever necessary of surveys and studies to back up its decisions whose reliability has always been confirmed so far.

The signatory organizations also wish to emphasize that the draft decision that was the pretext for industrialists to withdraw once again concerns only certain multimedia telephones: “smartphones”, whose characteristics make it possible to consider them, independently of their function as a telephone, as true portable audio (MP3) and/or video (MP4) devices.

Any possible inclusion in this category of other multimedia telephones (or “smartphones”) would be decided by the Commission only after examining the results of a study it commissioned to determine the extent to which these devices are indeed used for private copy.

Nonetheless, nothing justifies delaying further a decision on “smartphones”, which the latest discussions within the Commission demonstrated that it was legitimate to enforce the levies currently applicable to portable MP3 or MP4 digital devices of equivalent capacity.

These signatory organizations recall in this respect that, without a quorum, the Commission must meet within the eight following days without a quorum being necessary in this case.

SORECOP & COPIE FRANCE:

• ADAMI (Performing artists and musicians): Alain Charriras; Gaël Marteau - +33 (0)1.44.63.10.34
• ARP (Authors, directors, producers): Michel Gomez -+33 (0)1.53.42.40.09
• PROCIREP (Film and television producers): Idzard van der Puyl - +33 (0)1.53.83.91.85
• SACD (Authors and composers of dramatic works): Guillaume Prieur - +33 (0)1.40.23.47.25
• SACEM (Musical authors, composers and publishers): Fabienne Herenberg - +33 (0)1.47.15.45.55
• SCAM (Multimedia authors): Laurent Duvillier - +33 (0)1.56.69.58.10
• SCPP & SPPF (Phonogram producers): Marc Guez - +33 (0)1.41.43.03.19 - Jérôme Roger: +33 (0)1.53.77.70.40
• SPEDIDAM (Performing artists): François Nowak: +33 (0)1.44.18.58.58

SOFIA (Authors of printed works) Florence-Marie Piriou:+33 (0)1.44.07.06.66

SORIMAGE (Visual artists) Christiane Ramonbordes: +33 (0)1 43 59 09 34