Canada Court Kills iPod Levy

Canadians may have more than potential new copyright laws to talk about now. The Federal Court of Appeals have recently quashed the Canadian Copyright board’s move to put a levy on iPods and other portable media devices

“I would allow the applications for judicial review, quash the decision of the Copyright Board dated July 19, 2007,” Writes the Ontario court, “and refer the applicants’ motions back to the Copyright Board for reconsideration and disposition in accordance with these reasons.”

CIPPIC (Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic) notes, “The Court of Appeal’s decision suggests that the act of copying one’s own CDs onto an iPod infringes copyright under the current law, and underscores the need for revising the Act in a balanced manner that accommodates common consumer practices.”

Howard Knopf, a copyright lawyer in Canada who was involved in the case commented that the levy would have put up to 75$ on iPods and “other Digital Audio Recorders.” he also noted that the court took less than 24 hours to reach a decision.

Internet law professor Michael Geist added that the CPCC (Canadian Private Copying Collective) could very well appeal the decision.

Given that the court reportedly acted on a previous decision, it may well be unlikely that an appeal would be successful. On the other hand, if Copyright Reform were successful and it included a levy on such “recording devices”, the law may yet still change.