Expert Opinion: Content Streaming Services and Private Copying Levies

The world of copyrighted content has changed radically in the past decade thanks to the modern infrastructure and the new technologies provided by digital industries, to the benefit of artists and consumers alike. User habits have evolved and streaming services have become the dominant way Europeans legitimately access and consume content.

One of DIGITALEUROPE’s national trade association members, Bitkom, commissioned Alain Strowel, Professor UCLouvain, University Saint-Louis-Bruxelles, KULeuven, Munich IP Law Center and attorney at the Brussels bar, to investigate whether the legal streaming of music or films, in particular the offline and online modes, involve some form of reproduction that can be qualified as a private copy and is therefore subject to copyright levies. Prof. Strowel comes to the clear conclusion that neither the downloads nor other forms of streaming are subject to a copyright levy.