SACEM
Latest
Apple ordered to pay 12 million euros for unpaid iPad copyright fees
Apple has been ordered to pay 12 million euros by a French court because of unpaid taxes on iPad copyrights between March 2012 to December 2012. The judgment is a continuation of the battle between Apple and the society of authors, composers and music publishers (SACEM) in France. SACEM is a French organization that doles out the "copie privée" tax to writers, artists, producers, musicians and other content creators. The "copie privée" is a tax in some European countries on digital devices that can display, copy or transfer copyrighted content. SACEM alleged that Apple has collected the "copie privée" tax, but failed to turn it over to the organization so it could dole the money out to its members that create the content sold on Apple's iPad. SACEM says Apple actually owes more than 30 million euros since 2011, but this most recent ruling was only concerned with the period between March 2012 to December 2012. Apple has not yet issued a comment on the ruling.
Google breaks ground with pan-European music deal, shows that streaming knows no borders
We now know how Google could offer its European music services to multiple countries so quickly. The search firm took advantage of a new hub approach to licensing at Armonia, an alliance between publishers in France, Italy and Spain, to get rights to about 5.5 million works from 35 countries inside and outside of Europe. The pact should have financial terms similar to those for Amazon and Apple, but it's more notable as a rare (if not pioneering) European digital music agreement that reaches much of the continent in one shot -- those competitors' earlier deals required slower, country-by-country negotiations that ultimately sparked regulatory problems. While we're not bracing ourselves for full catalog access in the Czech Republic in the near future, the Armonia license could be a watershed moment for not just Google Music, but any digital music shop that wants to get a fresh start in the Old World.
