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Soon to become more expensive.
The essential tools of pirates: blank CDs, blank DVDs, external hard drives, and other copy-related technology, are about to get more expensive in Slovenia. The government has announced that starting this Saturday, all of these things will include a “compensation” fee based on things like the amount of recording time, or number of megabytes, a device can hold.
Although the extra expenses can be circumvented by shopping outside of Slovenia, it still seems like a much better solution than the ongoing “sue-em-all” campaign happening in the United States. I guess we’ll see how it pans out.
And, of course, if you need any of the stuff on this list — it might be a good idea to go pick it up today or tomorrow.
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It’s getting ridiculous. Serbian law allows for something like this, but luckily we don’t enforce laws here.
On the other hand, they won’t accept mail with self-burnt CDs or DVDs in the post office, which annoys me greatly.
Hi Michael,
I think you’ve missed a point a bit - the compensation is not for pirating, but for personal use. It is explicitly stated that illegal copying is not covered by this. So, we’re paying quite a bit (in case of DVD’s the prices will go up about 40%), for what?
If anything, I think this will make illegal copying even more widespread - hey, I’m paying for it already, I’ll copy as much as I want.
clarity: Yikes, that’s a bit odd. Aren’t the fees going to the intellectual copyright association? And if not there, then where?
This is b…s..t! I buy empty CDs for saving my photos.
I just hope this money will go to artists and not for patrias, C-295, C-27, or whatever for trips to Iraq.
Yes, the fees are going SAZAS, but they are intended for security copies for legally bought merchandize and not for pirate use.
Well… changes are, but fortunately almost nobody uses Audio CD… For example, a pack of 50CDs now costs around 2000 SIT will on saturday cost 2320 SIT… On other hand, pack of 25DVDs, that costs around 2500 SIT will after saturday cost 3600 SIT…
What bothers me is, that also the prices of printers and scanners will go up… for example, if you buy multifunction device (printer+scanner) that costs 25000 sit, from saturday on, this device will cost 3500SIT more… And even Compact Flash/SD cards that are primarily used in cameras will be more expensive…
And as far as i know, the most money will go to SAZAS (lobbyist nr. 1)…They basically “protect” audio rights, so don’t know why i have to pay extra for a memory card for my camera or to print something… ok, i imagine what… i could take a photo of a CD cover, and then print it on my brand new printer…
How can money go to SAZAS?
They are non-profit organisation in Slovene: društvo…
As far as i know organisations like SAZAS cannot “earn” money because they are non-profit.
Btw. can you copy a CD or DVD with a CD ROM or DVD ROM unit?
Why pay a tax for that?
Revolution! Let’s go out and block the roads!
Yeah! Bring on the tractors and trucks! Shut down the streets!!
Wait, does anybody have a tractor or truck?
Aye, for the days of olde when pirating was rewarded with a proper hanging. Or, at the very least, a Rousing keelhauling. Nowadays, just fines. Where has the old-fashioned adventure of salty air in your face and a gathering of unwashed buddies gone?
Hi! I have a car, a tractor and a truck with a trailer! I say let’s go for it!
just kidding, but really I have all the above mentioned wehicles!
i think this laq ist lame!
The American way of suing everyone is the only fair approach. The Slovenian approach just assumes that everybody buying the CDs is guilty and charges everyone a small fine. It only hurts the people who actually use the media in a lawful way. Let’s say I make my living by shooting wedding videos and selling the DVDs or something like that. My costs have just gone up 40%. WTF?
In German cinemas you will be shown quite a funny scene before the film finally begins: There is a young mother and her three kids standing on a lawn and singing Happy Birthday to you (dear Daddy). When they are finished, one of the kids asks: When will Daddy come home, Mum? She sighs and says “Four more times singing, my dear.” And then they show the prison with their Daddy in it.
Cause serious piracy can put you there. Yep. But CDs are cheap.
I think don’t this is about Slovene law, but rather a European directive, put forward by IFPI in order to discourage illegal copying by private users, not the big pirate conglomerates (who as usual go to China for their mass production). In Belgium we had this introduced several years ago and it didn’t cause a big upheaval. Why? Because most people use data CD’s to burn whatever they need to burn, audio included. The prices went up slightly for about six months but are now again at an all time low, especially since external storage devices from USB keys to external hard disks - iPod included - have hit the industry. I’d say there’s no real cause for alarm, demonstrations or a violent revolution and the hurling about of molotov cocktails. Things always get worse before they get better.
@ Crni : you’re making a bit of a stretch here. It’s not because the DVD’s increased 40% in retail price that your costs will go up the same amount. Typcially, professional audiovisual entrepreneurs buy their source material in bulk, which amounts to much less than small quantity retail. Second, those aren’t the only costs you make. In the example you give, you must add the gas money, the car maintenance, the video equipemnt maintenance and several other added expenses that make up your typical cost. If only one of these went up by 40% that wouldn’t amount to your total cost going up by the same percentage. It would go up, but not with that kind of percentage…
This is a fascist law! About piracy…why would anybody buy a 100CD or DVD cake if he is not downloading movies and then burning them? I think that anybody that has a DSL connection is actually a pirate and if he is not one, then he is an idiot! Fuck the corporate world, burn donw the SAZAS, kill the president and slaughter the check out operators at merkur!
ARF: My example was illustrative, not that the total costs would actually increase 40%. However, the fact remains that people are getting punished without their guilt being proven. Similar to slapping your kid when he gets home, because he might have thrown a rock in someone’s window.
The american way RIAA and MPAA actually have to do some work to get that money - by threatening to sue people where they actually have some kid of proof about their ilegal activities.
@ ARF: To be fair, if you get your DVDs for a lower price, percentage-wise the cost will increase *more* for you. This is because the law does not impose a per cent fee but rather a fee given in absolute terms based on medium capacity.
Hence, to take a hypothetical example, if you pay 1000 SIT for a given medium and the cost increase is 400 SIT (ie 40%), if you buy it in bulk and get each medium for, say, 600 SIT, you will be paying 67% more for each (ie 1000 SIT overall).
Taco Bell Rules !!!
Whhooooooooo yeah
BiNe: you misunderstand “non-profit”. It means that you have no profit when you add all your earnings and expenses, not that you have no earnings. Most associations have a membership fee, don’t they?
I told you the E.U. was a silly fad! Now it’s also bad!