Japanese Government Levying Royalties Fees On Recordable Blu-Ray Disc and Recorders

According to Engadget HD, Japan’s Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Education, Science and Technology Ministry reportedly have come to a consensus in deciding to place royalty fees on all blank Blu-ray Discs and Blu-ray recorders. According to the parties involved, the purpose of this levy is to “compensate copyright holders for the increase in copying by individuals due to the development of new digital technologies.” Engadget also states that there were disagreements on how to apply the levy to Hard Disk based standalone recorders as well as portable devices. Future discussions could lead to the fees possibly being applied elsewhere. In other words, the act of piracy by a few individuals will lead to the levying of taxes upon everyone else… or persons just resorting to imports.