iPod Levy - Copyright Board decision quashed by Federal Court of Appeal

The Federal Court of Appeal ("FCA") has quashed the Copyright Board's July 19, 2007 decision to go ahead with its planned hearing to certify a levy of up to $75 on iPods and other Digital Audio Recorders.

The FCA hearing on the judicial review of the Board's decision was held yesterday. It took the Court less than 24 hours to render its decision - which told the Board that the Court's previous decision on the same issue from 2004 is "dispositive."

The Court, per Sharlow, J.A., said:

I read that case as authority for the proposition that the Copyright Board has no legal authority to certify a tariff on digital audio recorders or on the memory permanently embedded in digital audio recorders. That proposition is binding on the Copyright Board....

It follows that the Copyright Board erred in law when it concluded that it has the legal authority to certify the tariff that CPCC has proposed for 2008 and 2009 on digital audio recorders, and in dismissing the applicants’ motions.

I acted in this matter for the Retail Council of Canada, which along with Apple Canada, etc. had brought the applications to quash.

The Applicants were awarded their costs. The reasons are very brief. The Court was very decisive.

P.S. - There's a lot of press coverage - but the Globe and Mail was one of the first to report and has an online collection of comment from over 100 readers. It's here.


HK