[latepaul]

Several music industry organizations in the UK have won a judicial review which renders the Government's decision to allow copying for personal use unlawful. According to the High Court, there's insufficient evidence to prove that the legislation doesn't hurt musicians and the industry at large.

While the groups are not against private copying exceptions, they disagreed with the Government’s conclusion that the change would cause no financial harm to the music industry.

Instead of keeping copies free, they suggested that a tax should be applied to blank media including blank CDs, hard drives, memory sticks and other blank media. This money would then be shared among rightsholders, a mechanism already operating in other European countries.

Today the High Court largely agreed with the music industry groups.

See here

Whilst the case was brought by bodies in the music industry, and IANAL, I can't see why this wouldn't also apply to other forms of copyrighted material. Indeed in talking about changes the Government website cites ebooks as an example:

The personal copying exception permits you to make copies of media (CDs, ebooks etc) you have bought, for private purposes such as format shifting or backup without infringing copyright

Again IANAL and it's clearly not over. but, if they do revise the law to have some blank media tax then I wonder if it will affect ebooks? Since there isn't really any blank media per se in ereading maybe it would be a tax on ereaders themselves, or on ebooks. Or simply giving the rights holders a slice of the VAT they already collect.