European Commission might slash copyright levies on digital media players
European Commission is considering slashing the copyright levies on products like digital music players, DVD players and mobile phones. This step would help the manufacturers like Apple and Sony to further boost their profitability from their products available in the market.
Interestingly, these levies were introduced way back in 1960s to compensate artists after devices like photocopiers and cassette recorders made an entry into the market making it easier for the consumer to replicate books, and records.
These charges were paid by the manufactures of these devices. A lot has changed since then and the charges are being levied even now making it expensive for companies like Nokia and Apple to launch cheaper products in the European markets.