Video Cassette Duties
Employer-Employee Liability
In a case on April 11 2000 the Finnish Supreme Court determined liability on duties for video tapes in accordance with Section 26a of the Finnish Copyright Act.
In this trial the retailer assumed he had paid the duties in a bill to the importer: he had clearly marked the duties in his receipts. However, the importer had subsequently failed to pay these duties to the copyright authority.
The primary liability lies with the importer or the manufacturer of the video cassettes. However, if asked by the copyright authority, it is the reseller's responsibility to produce evidence proving that the duty has been paid. Should the reseller fail to provide such proof, it is he who is liable. Being unable to produce such evidence, the reseller was found liable to pay the copyright duties to the copyright authority.
In its decision of May 31 2000 the Finnish Supreme Court found that an employee of a limited partnership company had violated the Finnish Copyright Act by making unlawful copies of copyright protected software. The Supreme Court also found that the employer company and the employee were jointly and severally liable to pay a reasonable compensation to the copyright holder of the software. The liability of the company was based on the fact that the employee had acted on behalf of the company and the company had managed to avoid paying the purchase price of the software.
For further information on this topic please contact Eeva Hakoranta or Kati Määttä at Roschier Holmberg, Attorneys Ltd by telephone (+358 9 228 551) or by fax (+358 9 664 303) or by e-mail ([email protected] or [email protected] ).
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