Canadian iPod levy killed in court

In July, the Copyright Board of Canada approved a private copying levy on iPods and removable memory storage cards, that could have resulted in tariffs of up to $75 per device, depending on storage capacity. That levy has effectively been struck down by Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal, which took only 24 hours to decide that the Copyright Board had no legal authority to impose the levy. Copyright lawyer Howard Knopf, who represented the Retail Council of Canada as well as Apple Canada et. al, said that “The applicants were awarded their costs. The reasons are very brief. The Court was very decisive.” The ruling was also welcomed by Retail Council of Canada president Diane J. Brisebois. “This has been a very long battle, but a necessary one,” said Brisebois in a prepared statement. “Retailers have fought against these levies since their creation in 1997 because it taxes a product based on what a consumer possibly could use it for.” [via MyAppleMenu]