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The New York Times has reported that authorities in Japan are considering adding a levy to each and every sale of a CD, passing the money on to the country's copyright bods. Why? Because apparently putting your CDs onto your iPod, or MP3 whatever, is bad, and goes beyond the copyright license of the CD itself. Or something - to tell you the truth we're a little confused ourselves. These facts are a wee bit muddled...
Anyway, what it boils down to is that Japanese buyers may have to pay more for their CDs and/or MP3 players in the future. That said, not all official bodies are so happy with the idea - the Consumers Union of Japan's Hiroko Mizuhara said the following:
"This is typical of how industry groups try to manipulate government at the expense of consumers."
Well said, that man.
