The compensation for private copying is a statutory compensation paid to authors of creative works for the right of each citizen to copy legal works for private use. For example, recording your favourite TV series on an external hard drive is considered private copying.
The funds for the compensation for private copying come from the state budget. Since 2015, the amount of funds budgeted for the compensation has been EUR 11 million.
The funds are distributed by Kopiosto as direct remunerations to professionals working in the audiovisual industry and by AVEK, which is part of our organisation, as support for the promotion of audiovisual works, productions and projects.
In addition to our distributions, compensations for creative industries are distributed by Audiovisual Producers Finland – APFI, Avate, Teosto, Gramex, the Finnish Music Foundation MES, the VISEK Centre for the Promotion of Visual Art and Kirjallisuuden edistämiskeskus KIDE, among others.
Compensation for private copying is used throughout the EU
According to Finnish legislation, producing copies for private use is allowed in Finland. Since 1984, this copying has been compensated for by using the compensation for private copying (previously the ‘compensation fee’).
The EU Copyright and Information Society Directive requires the copyright holders of works to be appropriately compensated for private copying. EU member states can independently decide on the nature of the compensation paid to the rightsholders of creative works. Finland is the only EU member state where the compensation is paid from the state budget. In other countries, the compensation is collected from the selling price of recording devices as a so-called device fee.
At the established level of EUR 11 million, the remuneration in Finland is approximately 5 cents/instance of copying. The sum is distributed to all the holders of a work’s copyrights and related rights. For example, for one film, remunerations are distributed to approximately 10–15 creators and performers.
The real level of the compensation for private copying has decreased drastically over the years. Because of this, developing the compensation system is very important for promoting the success of the Finnish audiovisual industry and the entire field of culture.
Compensation for private copying supports creative work
The compensation funds are distributed to creative industries. Kopiosto distributes remunerations to the authors and performers of TV programmes, which include directors and actors, among others. In 2023, we distributed a total of EUR 2.8 million in compensation funds to approximately 8,000 professionals in the audiovisual industry. The compensation is part of their income.
The compensation funds are also used for the common interests of authors, to promote audiovisual culture, for example. Since 1987, AVEK, a part of our organisation, has supported the production of Finnish documentaries, animations, short films and media art with the compensation funds. During its 35-year history, AVEK has distributed approximately EUR 73 million in compensation for private copying funds to creators in the audiovisual field and supported the making of approximately 3,100 films or other audiovisual productions. AVEK’s support facilitates the creation of approximately 140 films and works of media art each year.
Approximately 65% of the remunerations for the private copying of audiovisual works are distributed via Kopiosto and AVEK.
