The CJEU supports compensation for private copying on sales to professionals
Articles3 March 2026
The CJEU supports compensation for private copying on sales to professionals, provided there are effective mechanisms for exemption and reimbursement.
A recent ruling from the CJEU clarified the scope of fair compensation for private copying under Directive 2001/29, confirming that Member States can impose payment on manufacturers, importers, and distributors even when storage media are sold to professional buyers.
The ruling reinforces a functional approach to the private copying system, based on the practical difficulty of controlling the final use of the devices, but makes its legitimacy depend on the existence of effective exemption and reimbursement mechanisms to avoid undue compensation.
Key points:
- Sale to professionals and private copying: the status of a professional buyer does not alone prevent the means from being used by individuals to make private copies.
- Rebuttable presumption: the Member States can establish a presumption of use for private copying of reproduction media, which can be rebutted with evidence to the contrary.
- Obliged to pay: it is compliant with EU law to impose compensation on manufacturers, importers, and distributors, with the possibility of passing the cost onto the final buyer.
- Use in professional environments: even when the devices belong to legal entities, they may be used by individuals for private purposes, which justifies compensation.
- Practical difficulties: the system is justified by the impossibility of identifying with certainty, at the moment of sale, exclusive professional use or minimal harm.
- Exemptions and certificates: those obliged to pay must be able to be exempted if they can demonstrate, for example through statements from the buyer, that no use will be made for private copies or that the harm will be minimal.
- Right to effective reimbursement: national legislation must provide for effective and not excessively complex reimbursement mechanisms when compensation is not required.
- State control: it is up to the Member States to guarantee the accuracy of the statements and the effectiveness of the exemption system.
Read the full article here.
