More than a year after the EC abandoned a similar effort, European Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, says (again) he wants to simplify copyright levies in the EU.
For example, levies on MP3 players range from 0 to 15 Euro depending on the country. According to EICTA, fees have more than tripled since 2001, when the EU passed its copyright law for the digital age. The law permitted copying of copyrighted works such as music for personal use, but allowed individual member states to set levels of levies to help compensate artists.
McCreevy launched a parallel initiative to extend copyright protection for performing artists from 50 years to 90 years. Both initiatives will require political approval from national governments.