💡 While differences in the copyright laws may apply, as a basic legal rule, the person who is declaring a legal claim, must themselves prove the (non-)existence of the prerequisites of their claim. The claimant is the respective collecting society.
Most copyright laws granted collecting societies information rights.
Thus, you are generally legally obliged to provide information on the type, number of units and source of supply of the devices you put on the market (e.g. by means of delivery bills / invoices) at the request of the collecting societies for the purpose of enforcing claims.
The obligation to pay or inform may not apply if
- Your supplier (manufacturer/importer) is bound by an overall agreement on remuneration. (Such overall agreements between collecting societies and associations exist specifically in Germany, check if your upstream supplier has participated in overall agreement here) or
- You report the type and number of devices purchased as well as its source of supply in writing periodically for the previous calendar half year to the responsible collecting societies. (Mind: This option and the periods differ in the respective country.)
In Summary
Generally the collecting society must prove that you owe copyright levy.
However, most copyright laws grant information rights, leading to you being obligated to provide the information necessary for the claim.
This obligation may be not applicable, if either your upstream supplier is bound by an overall agreement, or you fulfill certain periodical reports.
How can I prove that the copy right was paid already?
- Generally collecting societies will probably request a .xlsx lists showing the, if applicable, IMEI numbers of all devices purchased including the names of the initial distributor(s).
- Proof may be: Purchase invoices, sales invoices and confirmation of payments that included and referred the storage media levy.