The cloud enters the fair compensation system

The most innovative — and also most discussed — part is the introduction of compensation for storage space cloud.

Until now, the system only affected physical devices. Now, in the wake of European jurisprudence (in particular the ruling of the EU Court of Justice C-433/20), the decree also extends the mechanism to “remote” memory.

The expected compensation is up to a maximum of 2.40 euros per month per active user.

Companies offering cloud services will have to submit a quarterly declaration indicating:

• the number of active users detected on the last day of each month;
• the memory capacity made available.

The legislator’s logic is clear: the cloud allows potentially unlimited storage capacity and therefore private copies. Even if the servers belong to third parties, they remain “media” suitable for reproduction.

Who is exempt and what changes for companies

The decree strengthens the system of exemptions, in particular for professional use.
Companies will be able to self-certify exclusively business use of the cloud, with dedicated online procedures and detailed technical documentation. The request must be submitted within 120 days.

Refunds of less than 5 euros will no longer be paid.

For companies that use the cloud only for operational purposes (data backup, internal documents, software), the exemption is therefore possible. But the bureaucratic burden of demonstration remains.

It’s not a device and cloud tax, but the consumer still pays

From a legal point of view, the fee for private copying is not a tax. It does not finance general taxation, but is redistributed:

• 90% to the authors and producers who own the rights;
• 10% to the Single Entertainment Fund (FUS).

However, in the perception of many consumers, the result does not change: the price of devices increases.

Manufacturers and tech associations speak openly about increases that will inevitably end up in the final price of smartphones, tablets and cloud services. Consumer associations fear they are facing the usual “hidden tax”.

On the other hand, the authors’ organizations point out that this is a consolidated and necessary European mechanism to compensate for real economic damage resulting from private copies.