PLR in Sweden

Sweden

Pursuant to Swedish copyright legislation, a copy of a literary work may be freely circulated, once it has been transferred with the consent of the copyright holder. Thus when a library purchases a book, it may then be freely circulated. This restriction of copyright has been implemented as a cultural policy instrument in Sweden, as part of the conviction that giving the public free access to information and literature via public libraries is a contribution to the general welfare.

Since 1954, Swedish literary originators have been compensated for library circulation of their books. The structure and form of the compensation scheme is also an expression of cultural policy. From a legal point of view it thus lies outside the domain of copyright legislation. In practice it works as follows: in addition to individual, lending-based remuneration, a large proportion of the compensation is disbursed as stipends and grants. The overall ambition is to strengthen the status of Swedish literature by improving the conditions under which its originators work, making it increasingly possible for skilled authors and other literary originators to devote themselves professionally to this work. In a language area as small as that where Swedish is in use, this is a prerequisite.

The Swedish scheme covers books (”works of literature”) written in Swedish or translated into Swedish, as well as books in other languages written by originators who are permanent residents of Sweden. The total sum is allocated by the government as an annual amount, calculated on the basis of library lending statistics. Compensation is also paid for reference copies.

PLR funding

The rate of compensation (sum per loan) is set after annual negotiations between the government and the three originators' organizations. Last year the government and the originators' organizations have negotiated the rates of compensation for library lending for 2008 and 2009.

The development of the appropriations to the Fund (1 SEK = 0.11 €’s):

Year	2006	2007	2008	2009
Rate of compensation (SEK)	1.18	1.22	1.26	1.29
Rate per loan of individual remuneration	0.71	0.73	0.76	0.77
Total compensation (SEK million)	117.5	119.5	121.6	121.6

European Commission and the Swedish PLR scheme

As described above, Swedish PLR is placed outside the copyright legislation and considered an important cultural policy instrument. During the last years the European Commission has questioned the language criteria of the Swedish scheme on the ground that they might constitute discrimination on the basis of nationality and therefore do not comply with Article 12 of the EU Treaty. The Swedish Government rejected the Commissions view that Swedish PLR is a copyright issue. This long-running discussion has now been brought to an end, when the Commission in December 2007 decided NOT to take legal action against the Swedish government.

(updated april 2008)