Japan to propose copyright fees on iPods, digital recorders

The Japanese government will propose this week a plan to charge copyright royalties on sales of iPods and other portable digital music players, as well as on digital hard disk recorders, a major daily newspaper reported Tuesday.

The Agency of Cultural Affairs has not yet decided the amount of the fee, but it would likely be around 100 yen per device for an annual total about 1 billion yen, according to the Asahi Shimbun. The proceeds would go to recording companies, songwriters and artists.

Older devices, such as minidisk and DVD recorders, are already subject to a copyright fee.

Representatives for the agency and Apple Japan Inc. could not be reached for comment, as offices were closed Tuesday for a national holiday.

Despite an aggressive push by the Japanese recording industry, a similar proposal to impose an "iPod tax" fell apart in December 2005 after a government committee failed to reach consensus on the issue.

Electronics makers are expected to mount strong opposition to the new levy, as they did on the earlier proposal.

The inclusion of hard disk recorders in the proposal comes less than a month before the start of new digital content protection rules in Japan. Under the "Dubbing 10" standard, Japanese consumers will be able to make up to nine copies of a recorded digital TV broadcast.