German Biz Loses Private Copying Case

[DaBees-Knees]

www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/searc..._id=1004040557

The German record-industry has failed to successfully fight against provision 53 of the country's copyright law at the German Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. That provision allows the digital copying of CDs for private use. The consequence of the decision is that digital private copies still remain legal.

The discussion about the legality of private digital copying was subject of the first revised copyright law in 2003. In the second revised version of the law that is still in force, the provision 53 was confirmed against the protests of the record-industry.

The claim filed at the German Federal Constitutional court in December 2008 by Universal, Sony, Warner and EMI among others was not accepted by the court for formal reasons because of time elapsing. The point by the court was that such a claim has to be filed within one year after the respective provision came into force. The third chamber of the German Federal Constitutional Court states in its decision of Oct. 7 2009, which has just been published, that the industry's claim is inadmissible because it was not filed in time.

The respective provision was part of the copyright law of 2003 so a claim against this would have been necessary at the beginning of 2004. The court stated that the record industry was already involved in the discussion about the provision 53 and that since it was not changed in the revised law, the time for the claim did not start after the new law came into force on Jan. 1, 2008.

Stefan Michalk, managing director of the association of the German music-industry (BVMI), commented: "The interpretation of the German Federal Constitutional Court is controversial, also among experts of German constitutional law. Before filing the claim we were aware of the risks, but we had to take our chance because the fact of whether private copying is legal or not is of such a big importance for the record business. For us it is still very questionable that the court refused our claim for formal reasons."

"It is still very questionable that the court refused our claim for formal reasons"

No, the court refused for common sense reasons.