Based on an EU-Directive each EU Member State has regulated Copyright Levy Laws on a local level. Thus, despite international and European rules having greatly unified the rights system, differences still persist.
It is necessary to comply to the applicable rules in each country, while this Infobase aims to give an insight on the most important factors.
💡 You can find each Copyright Laws via the free legal database for intellectual property from the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) here.
Since it is a "levy", not a "tax", the levies are collected by private bodies, which are the Collective Management Organizations (”CMO”). These are usually divided into individual collecting societies for the respective field (e.g. audio, literature, etc).
Depending on the respective law, these societies ****have information rights such as documentation of sold devices, rights to access the premises and other supervisory powers in order to claim remunerations.
- Austria: austro mechana.
- Germany: ZPÜ/Die Zentralstelle für private Überspielungsrechte.
- France: Copie France.
- Italy: SIAE/Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori.
- Netherlands: de Thuiskopie.
- Sweden: Copyswede.
- Belgium: Auvibel.
- Poland: ZAiKS.
- Denmark: Copydan.
- Ireland: Does not have a system of copyright levies and no other remuneration mechanisms.