This is a really bad trend to start. IMHO, it infers that everyone who owns an I-Pod (example) is a pirate in some form or fashion. When the music industry (that's who's really getting this money) wins this unecessary gift, they will reference it later when they try to bolster for it to be a tax everywhere else in the world. Once the precedent has been set, it becomes really difficult to go against it.

Are they going to give them music?
If they are paying a tax,it infers they are going to receive something in return for paying said tax.Or does this tax mean they are encouraging pirating?

Originally posted by jwwolf:

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Are they going to give them music?
If they are paying a tax,it infers they are going to receive something in return for paying said tax.Or does this tax mean they are encouraging pirating?

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in my mind i see this as encouraging piracy more...most people will think "well if you're going to take me ill download anyways"

Tax TV's...monitors, phones....speakers, turntables, playback units..tax EVERYTHING since the Entertainment Industry is obviously the 4th branch of government now (USA). We owe our very existence to them! For their efforts for all mankind they DESERVE to be subsidized by all and tax us accordingly. BS

What it infers is that the term "piracy" should not exist anymore. Not everyone is a "pirate" and in applying this tax across the board, they are pretty much saying that everyone has the right to file share or copy media if they so choose to do so, and it should all be ok because they are paying the tax up front. Just like not everyone who pays school taxes has kids. I'm all for it. Paying $5-$10 extra to big media for "compensation" is worth it IMO to be left alone to share entertainment the way I want to.

In theory, if somoenes iPod is found to have 200 songs that I obtained through p2p, it should be perfectly fine, since they've been paying a tax for it.

But that's just a theory.

I got your IPod tax RIGHT HERE!!! {0i0}

guess innocent until proven guilty really doesnt apply in this case.......just everyones guilty.

This is a bloody disgrace.. It's wrong and we all know it. Tell you what. I'm never ever going to Spain on holiday ever again. They can lose the €1000+ that I would normally spend..

Stick that Spain!! Welcome to the dark ages.. The greedy cartel are destroying the future with their greed... what will they tax next.. whistling in the street?

And I agree with emugamer on this.. If you have been taxed for your so called pirate content then you should be immune from any kind of prosecution for any file sharing or downloading you may do. That's going to be interesting in the Spanish courts sometime in the near future. I hope whoever they decide to bust for "sharing" gets good lawyers at the expense of the state and costs them far more than the €millions so they see the stupidity of their ways..

MPAA/RIAA Die mofo's DIE!! (people used to throw dead cats at Babbage because he got a law passed outlawing singing in the street... we should throw dead politicians at the MPAA/RIAA until they get the message.. WE DON'T WANT TO PAY FOR YOUR STERILE YANKEE S*IT ANYMORE!!)

Originally posted by emugamer:

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What it infers is that the term "piracy" should not exist anymore. Not everyone is a "pirate" and in applying this tax across the board, they are pretty much saying that everyone has the right to file share or copy media if they so choose to do so, and it should all be ok because they are paying the tax up front.

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That's an interesting point, but I don't think that's what's going to come out of this. Switching to the ink cartridges.... Is it assuming that everything printed on my printer is a copy-righted image? Or if I scan something in with my scanner, that it must be "owned" by someone else, so that must be taxed too? What a load of BS!

@JRude

For once this isn't something started by the US. Spain is setting the downward spiral...I mean trend. The media industries do think they can control the world. Until the world fights back, they'll still make money, even if it is deceiptful. Personally, I think a limit should be placed on how many lawsuits may be filed by a single company or individual. That would save the government money by freeing up the court system a little. Maybe they could try the real criminals.

Quote:

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The fee will depend on each device with MP3 players costing an extra €3.15 each. Devices such as cellphones with cameras and MP3 players will only cost a €1.10 extra.

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We already have that here. Mp3-players and digital receivers, basically any media player that has a storage device.

first of all, this is nothing new. Multi-functional printers have copy-taxes of upto 35 Euro (about $47).

But you're all missin an important point. In spain it is legal to copy audio-visual material as long as the original source has been aquired legally (so the copy has been made of an original CD/DVD (or of a legally aquiered copy - more or less anything that isn't a screener), and of course it must be no-lucrative.

Leaving a side the fact that to copy is legal, it's just another tax (canon?) that suggests that everyone will only use copies. This really hardens competition. It's like if you want to buy a empty DVD for 20 euro-cent and you have to pay about 1 euro taxes (canon), and vat. All together taxes are like 400-500%. That's just outreagous.

This is the "Robin Hood" effect in REVERSE:

"Take from the poor, and give to the rich"