News in the digital canon that will come into force as of July 1, 2023 in Spain. Some of them, even, not contemplated at first according to what was published on March 29 by the BOE by Royal Decree 209/2023.
It is worth taking into account a vital concept in said canon, that of the equitable compensation for private copy or digital royalty. In other words, the rate applied to recording media or devices and intended for authors, publishers and artists in compensation for copies or the use made of their works in the private sphere.
In a principal, the companies and developers of these devices themselves were subject to this canon. However, at the end of December 2012, the Spanish government annulled this procedure and proposed a new draft, Royal Decree-Law 20/2011, which adopted “urgent measures on Intellectual Property«.
From that moment on, the digital canon was limited and replaced by a new system “charged to the General State Budgets”. But, in June 2016, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared itself against this system and insisted that it was not guaranteed that the cost of said compensation would only be borne by the users of these copies. Repercussing this, both on individuals and legal entities, when the latter should be exempt from said tax.
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Among the novelties, the incorporation as creditors of equitable compensation is included to the authors and editors of press publications, magazines and scores, “including newspapers and magazines, of informative, cultural, scientific, technical content, of creation of public opinion or entertainment, both on paper and in digital format”.
Also the price of ‘smartwatches’ or smart watches is regulated for the first time “with the functionality of reproducing phonograms, videograms and texts or other sound, visual or audiovisual content” with a fee of 2.50 euros.
As of that date, all smartphones with Android, iOS and HarmonyOS operating systems that have a capacity greater than 128.01 GB will also be 3.25 euros more expensive at the time of purchase.
In turn, article 2 dictates the relationship between apparatus, equipment and reproduction material supports subject to the payment of equitable compensation and the amounts applicable to them, which will be in both cases those indicated in the annex.
The amounts are the same as in the 2017 decree: 3.75 euros for tablets, 3.25 euros for smart mobile phones and 2.50 euros for smart watches with the functionality of playing phonograms, videograms and texts or other sound, visual or audiovisual content, these being stored in the memory of said device.
As for desktop PCs and laptops, the digital fee remains at 5.33 euros, for hard drives between 0.90 and 3 euros, while it rises to 4 or 6.45 euros if they are external hard drives. If we talk about disks integrated into a team between 3 and 4, for printers 4 euros and for reprographic equipment (photocopiers) for books and similar publications the amount is 5.25 euros.
For multimedia e-books the digital fee is €3.15, while for USB sticks it is €0.24, for recordable and rewritable CDs it is €0.08 and for recordable and rewritable DVD / Blu-Ray it is €0. €21.
