The parties still do not agree on whether external hard drives and USB sticks should be subject to a fee or not. However, the issue will not be decided in court, but by an arbitration board.
The parties have nevertheless agreed to a certain extent and have signed an agreement for which compensation levels for external hard drives and USB memory sticks should apply – if the arbitration board comes to the conclusion that the product types should be covered by the private copying compensation.
The price is set at SEK 80 for external hard drives and SEK 1 per GB up to 80 GB for USB sticks with a storage capacity of more than 2 GB.
Until the issue is settled, half the price applies, i.e. SEK 40 for external hard drives and 50 öre for USB sticks of up to 80 GB.
– It is good for both the authors and the electronics industry that this basic legal issue is clarified quickly and cost-effectively and that conditions are as stable as possible while this happens, write Mattias Åkerlind, CEO at Copyswede, and Stefan Widmark, in a press release.
In the summer or autumn of 2012, the issue should be resolved.