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Article 25, entitled ‘Fair compensation for private copying’, of the Ley de Propiedad Intelectual (Law on Intellectual Property), in the consolidated version approved by Real Decreto Legislativo 1/1996, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley de Propiedad Intelectual, regularizando, aclarando y armonizando las disposiciones legales vigentes sobre la materia (Royal Legislative Decree 1/1996 approving the consolidated text of the Law on Intellectual Property standardising, clarifying and harmonising the legal provisions in force in this regard) of 12 April 1996 (BOE No 97 of 22 April 1996, p. 14369), as amended by Real Decreto-ley 12/2017 (Royal Decree-Law 12/2017) of 3 July 2017 (BOE No 158 of 4 July 2017, p. 56444) (‘the Law on Intellectual Property’), is worded as follows: ‘1. The reproduction of works circulated in the form of books or publications deemed by Royal Decree to be equivalent for this purpose, as well as in the form of phonograms, videograms or other sound, visual or audiovisual media, carried out by means of non-typographic technical devices or instruments, exclusively for private, non-professional or non-business use and for ends that are neither directly nor indirectly commercial, in accordance with Article 31(2) and (3), shall give rise to fair compensation paid at a flat rate for each of the three methods of reproduction mentioned, aimed at appropriately compensating the harm caused to creditors as a result of reproductions made on the basis of the legal limitation on private copying. That compensation shall be determined for each method of reproduction according to the equipment, devices and media appropriate to make that reproduction, which were manufactured on Spanish territory or purchased outside that territory with a view to their commercial distribution or use in that territory. … 3. Manufacturers established in Spain, where they operate as commercial distributors, and persons who purchase, outside Spanish territory, the equipment, devices and media referred to in paragraph 1 with a view to their commercial distribution or use in that territory shall be liable for payment of that compensation. In addition, the distributors, wholesalers and retailers who subsequently purchase those equipment, devices and media shall be jointly and severally liable for the payment of compensation to the debtors who supplied them with the goods in question, unless they prove that that compensation has in fact been paid to those persons. The distributors, wholesalers and retailers who subsequently purchase those equipment, devices and media may apply to management organisations, in accordance with the procedure for making fair compensation effective, which is provided for by Royal Decree, for that compensation to be refunded, with regard to sales of reproduction equipment, devices and media, to persons benefiting from an exemption in accordance with paragraph 7. … 7. The following purchases of reproduction equipment, devices and media shall be exempt from the payment of compensation: … (b) purchases made by legal or natural persons acting as final consumers who can prove that the equipment, devices or media purchased are used exclusively for professional purposes and provided that these have not been made available, in law or in fact, to private users and are clearly reserved for uses other than the making of private copies, which they must prove to debtors and, where appropriate, to those who are jointly and severally liable by means of a certificate issued by the legal person referred to in paragraph 10; … 8. Legal or natural persons who are not exempt from the payment of compensation may apply for reimbursement of that compensation where: (a) they act as final consumers, proving that the reproduction equipment, devices or media purchased are used exclusively for professional purposes, and provided that these have not been made available, in law or in fact, to private users and are clearly reserved for uses other than the making of private copies. … 10. Intellectual property rights management organisations shall participate in the creation (in accordance with the legislation in force), management and financing of a legal person which, as a representative of all those organisations, shall perform the following functions: (a) the management of exemptions from payment and of reimbursements; (b) the receipt and subsequent transmission to management organisations of periodical lists of reproduction equipment, devices and media in respect of which there is an obligation to pay compensation, which are drawn up by debtors and, where appropriate, by those who are jointly and severally liable, in the context of the procedure for making compensation effective, which is determined by Royal Decree; (c) unified billing communication. 11. Debtors and those who are jointly and severally liable shall authorise the legal person created by management organisations in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph to control purchases and sales subject to the payment of fair compensation and those affected by the exemptions referred to in paragraph 7. Similarly, persons who have obtained an exemption certificate shall provide, at the request of that legal person, the data necessary to verify that they actually still satisfy the conditions for benefiting from the exemption. 12. … … The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport shall resolve the complaints brought before it concerning the refusal by that legal person to grant the exemption certificates provided for in points (b) and (c) of paragraph 7 and the applications for reimbursement of fair compensation for private copying referred to in paragraph 8.’