It looks like German computer manufacturers and purchasers are going to end up forking out in the battle over copyright theft, reports p2pnet.net:
A "tax" that looks a lot like a royalty collection levy is to be imposed on all Fujitsu Siemens computers sold in Germany.
Last year the VG Wort copyright organization filed against Fujitsu Siemens, Germany's largest PC maker, wanting €30 for each new computer sold there. That demand was turned down but the District Court of Munich has now approved a €12 copyright levy which VG Wort plans to apply to all PC vendors in the country.
(Interesting follow up discussion as Slashdot.)
Germany has long applied a levy on blank analogue media as a way of compensating those who lose out from unprotected distribution. Canada recently imposed a similar fee on blank digital media, but a judge ruled that it could not apply to MP3 players.
I'd like to know if it actually works as a compensatory system, or just works as a visible sticking plaster to a difficult problem.
