Quote:
Originally Posted by Zetmolm
It works like this: Dutch law allows us to make a 'backup' of books, movies and mp3s, but there is no requirement that you actually own a legal copy before you're allowed to make this backup. A download from the Internet is considered such a backup. In other words, I'm allowed to make backups of materials I don't own.
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Backup is a different matter. In the article of the law that applies it is called `reproduction'. You are allowed to make a reproduction (as you write indeed not of software and games), but a reasonable fee has to be paid. The fee is paid in the form of a levy on the media where the copy is stored. The law is behind the technology as up to now the levy is only on CD-R's and DVD-R's which of course are less and less used. The media industry would like to have the levy on all storage devices, but they couldn't agree on it with the computer industry. Of course many hard disks are used for business purposes and they would also get the levy, thereby increasing the price of all computers. However in France (and I think Spain) they do have this already.
The EU leaves its members the choice to either have a levy or forbid private copying. Or even both but that would lead to a big public outcry, I suppose.