The French Civil Supreme Court rules that the violation by foreign websites of the obligation to inform consumers on the existence of a copyright levy constitutes unfair competition to a French company (Rue du Commerce / Dabs / Omnisoft and others)

Copyright laws of most European Member States provide that the price of storage products such as tapes or discs include a copyright levy, to compensate authors whose work will be copied on these media. The amount of this copyright levy differing from one country to another, resellers of such products may suffer from these discrepancies when based in countries where the levies are the highest. The French Civil Supreme Court ruled that French distance sellers may have a case against foreign competitors which unfairly take advantage of these fiscal discrepancies. Facts When one buys a CD, a DVD, a USB key, a hard drive, an iPod, in any European State, the price of the product usually includes a copyright levy. This tax is collected for copyright holders to be compensated for magnetic or