http://www.macnn.com/articles/04/04/19/itms.drm.vs..taxation/
Eurpean iTMS delayed by DRM vs. taxation debate
updated 03:10 am EDT, Mon April 19, 2004
iTMS: DRM vs. taxation
The European version Apple's iTunes Music Store has been delayed while Europe decides if it wants to go for : "negotiations with national royalty agencies are taking longer than expected, said the London-based European Digital Media Association, which represents companies that offer music online," according to The International Herald Tribune: "These national royalty collections agencies have long levied a copyright fee on old-style technology recording devices [and] want to catch up by extending the levy to new digital devices like MP3 players and personal computers, even though in some cases consumers are already paying a fee through DRM devices."
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2003
I'm sorry
but the EU is totally lame for taxing a product just because you can use it to do something illegal with it. DRM is annoying, but at least if it's done right it's not terribly intrusive. It's just that little bit that makes it difficult for the hardcore piraters to do their work. But tax every item? That gets back to exactly what the RIAA/MPAA is trying to do: kill off piracy. Guess what? Piracy is never going to be killed. You can only make it more convient to do the thing legally, by imposing methods which make pirating things more annoying for the average person (i.e., DRM)
This tax is nothing more then an excuse to rip off consumers. It does nothing to prevent piracy. Rather, it makes the EU look backward because they are keeping less of their population from using new technlogy.