A group of Europe's leading film directors is demanding that a levy on manufacturers of audiovisual copying equipment to compensate artists remains at the heart of European copyright policies.

The signatories - Pedro Almodovar, Ken Loach, Nanni Moretti, Costa Gavras, Mike Leigh, Lars Von Trier and the Dardennes brothers - have addressed an open letter to members of the European Commission, which is currently reviewing the levies operating in 20 European Union (EU) countries.

The levy, or "fair compensation," takes the form of a tax on gadgets, such as MP3s, which goes to film-makers and performance artists. The costs are generally passed on as higher prices to consumers but the Commission is concerned that the levy acts as a restraint on the internal market.

The Commission is reviewing the rights which are believed to be worth around $700m (Euros 560m) to the audiovisual industries in the EU.

Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy is expected to make recommendations later this year with the Commission expected to tighten rules but to fall short of scrapping compensation.

The directors say they want the levy supported and retained.

"We want to express our wholehearted support to the principle of compensation for the privatecopying of audio and audiovisual works - the current system that operates in 20 countries of the European Union," the directors say.

"Creators should have the right to be fairly compensated for their work when the latter is being reproduced. Whileconsumers have the ability to copy films, film directors should be able to exercise their right to perceive acompensation for such usage."

The eight warn that failure to pay directors for the use of their work would threaten the already stretched finances of European film-makers.

"Our only assets as creators are the rights granted to us as authors of intellectual property works. Thereforequestioning this right to compensation for private reproduction is a frontal attack on our "droit d'auteur" orcopyright."

The Commission Letter in full

Dear Members of the European Commission,

We are writing to you in the context of a draft recommendation that is submitted to your attention and which aims at reviewing private copying schemes in Europe.

Through this letter we want to express our wholehearted support to the principle of compensation for the privatecopying of audio and audiovisual works - the current system that operates in 20 countries of the European Union.

Creators should have the right to be fairly compensated for their work when the latter is being reproduced. Whileconsumers have the ability to copy films, film directors should be able to exercise their right to perceive acompensation for such usage. In the absence of effective technology systems there is no other alternative forright holders to be compensated.

Our craft is to write and direct movies. It is becoming harder to finance European stories. Therefore, even if thecompensation that we receive in relation to the private copying is limited it still represents an important source ofremuneration. We are concerned that proposed reforms threaten this source of remuneration because ofinaccurate representation of the reality by the powerful ICT industry.

Our only assets as creators are the rights granted to us as authors of intellectual property works. Thereforequestioning this right to compensation for private reproduction is a frontal attack on our "droit d'auteur" orcopyright. We fail to see how DRM will be a substitute to this right whose implementation is worth £560 million a year to the creative industries in Europe (considerably less than the £950 million quoted by the ICT lobby).

As technology advances, consumers benefit from increasing possibilities for making copies of films and music fortheir private use. At the same time, it is important to recognise that it is the creative community that drivesconsumers to purchase ICT equipments (MP3 and DVD players, digital TV or computers).

Creators provide mostof the material which consumers want to copy. Without this content, consumers would only be able to makecopies of their own work. As a result, the attraction of consumer electronics to store or copy would be muchweaker. We believe, therefore, that it is fair that content creators receive compensation for private copying.

Thissystem meets the needs of both consumers (the ability to copy) and creators (fair compensation). It does not inany way hold back the development of broadband or the penetration of hardware equipment.

The ICT industryshould recognise its responsibility in remunerating or financing audiovisual productions. Free availability ofcontent should not be a business model encouraged by the ICT industry to support the roll out of digitaltechnologies at the expense of our creations.

We are calling on the European Commission to recognise the importance of rewarding creators for theircontribution. The consequences of any reform of compensation schemes for private copying must therefore becarefully evaluated to avoid damaging Europe's audiovisual industry, and Europe's as a centre of creation.

We call on the European Commission to take culture and creativity into account when developing policies.

We hope that we can count on your support.