A group of seven electronics companies wrote to the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, requesting a personal intervention in rescheduling the legislative revision of the rate applied to manufacturers of electronic devices as compensation for the private copying of content.
The revision of the legislation started to be discussed in December 2006, but ended up being abandoned after a French request for more time for reflection, in a maneuver that had as main objective to stop the process.
The current legislation, which affects about 20 European countries, defines a rate considered by companies to be «excessive and unjustified», which aims to compensate artists for intellectual property rights.
«We would like to request a meeting with you to hear how you intend to proceed, or to understand the reasons that led the Commission not to continue its action», says the letter, made public by the group.
The initiative brings together in the same protest Philips, Nokia, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Sony-Ericsson, Matsushita and Sony, which guarantee to express the feeling of the industry regarding the issue.
«The confidence of the industry has been shaken by the sudden departure from the proposed reforms, so we expect from you personal leadership in resuming the reform process», adds the document that underlines the fact that on several occasions the European Commission itself has already recognized the need to reform the rate.
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