4 ms·
Living in Germany, I've discovered such lovely organisations such as "VG-Wort". Apparently we have to pay this lovely organisation 334.40 euros for each copier
by xioxox 8y ago
Living in Germany, I've discovered such lovely organisations such as "VG-Wort". Apparently we have to pay this lovely organisation 334.40 euros for each copier and 300.9 euros for each printer per year to print out copyrighted information. This seems to include copyrighted documents we have paid for via subscriptions. Seems like these rentier organisations propagate like crazy in Germany (also see GEMA). Of course VG-Wort's homepage says "yes to the European copyright reform proposal".
- hkai 8y agoCan you give more details because I couldn't find much by searching for "VG-Wort printer fees" and "Germany annual printer fees"?
- xioxox 8y agoI've only received this from higher up in our organisation, but it appears to be something to do with § 54c of the German Copyright Act (UrhG). Edit: this seems to be because I am at a research institute.
- pluma 8y agoYeah, universities do this. Apparently there's a kind of "copyright filter" already in effect and the only way these institutions can work around it is by having these agreements where they simply pay a fixed fee to avoid having to strictly police printer/copier use. A similar fee most people are unaware of but that actually affects individuals: empty VHS cassettes, audio tapes, CD-Rs and so on are subject to a special "sales tax" to reimburse publishers for supposed financial losses. Of course publishers are still able to sue people for damages when they violate their copyright, this apparently only covers personal use (which is still legally protected but narrowly defined).