Computer companies to pay for pirates

THE MUNICH DISTRICT COURT has ordered Fujitsu Siemens to pay a royalty collecting outfit €12 for each new machine it sells.

Wigged ones of the court were convinced that because the machine could be bought by pirates, the computer company should pay the same tax that the makers of blank audio and video cassettes have to shell out.

Germany has a long history of collecting a copyright tax on blank audio and vhs cassettes which is intended to compensate rights holders for lost royalties from pirates.VG Wort rights society said that since computers could be used for piracy, computer companies should pay the tax too.

VG Wort has been fighting for more than two years to get the cash from PC companies and although it wanted the court to impose a €30 copyright tax, it cheerfully claimed victory. It now plans to take the copyright levy to every other computer company in Germany.

The landmark case means that Germany will become the first EU country to impose a copyright levy on new PCs. Fujitsu Siemens is considering appealing. The full story can be found here. µ