BEIJING, June 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The Karaoke Copyright Operation
Center of China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) revealed that the
two companies, SHINE Multimedia Co. Ltd and Thunderstone Technology Ltd,
were investigated by copyright authorities on June 20th because they were
suspected of illegally copying and supplying pirated songs to Karaoke
operators.
In May of this year, the Yunnan Copyright Administration received
complaints against the Kunming offices of these two companies from China
Audio -Video Copyright Association, Music Copyright Society of China (MCSC)
and some other rights owners, who claim that the two companies produced and
sold VOD systems to Karaoke operators, copied and sold large numbers of
music works, including Love Me or Not. The music copied involves 10,000
songs. On June 20th, the Yunnan Copyright Administration investigated these
two VOD system suppliers and confiscated relevant equipment and materials.
The Vice Director General of the China Audio & Video Copyright
Association and Vice Director of the Karaoke Copyright Operation Center,
Mr. Lu Wenju, explained that 80% of the KTV operators use the VOD system to
provide vocal accompaniment for customers while the majority of the songs
from the VOD system are provided by the VOD system supplier. However, most
of those system suppliers have never obtained approval or authorization
from copyright owners when they made copies of those music & TV works
protected by Copyright Law. At present, most of the songs in the VOD
systems of 170,000 Karaoke Lounges are provided by the VOD system
suppliers. At a rate of 25,000 to 60,000 pirated songs owned by each KTV,
the total storage of pirated songs will be around 4.3 billion songs
throughout the country. The scale of infringement is alarming. According to
the initial estimation, the right owners lose around RMB2 billion from
infringement of copyrights. Those VOD system suppliers copied others' works
on a large scale for commercial use without the approval of rights owners.
They have committed the crime of infringing upon copyrights according to
article 217 of the Criminal Law and should bear criminal responsibilities.
At present, relevant departments including the China Audio-Video
Copyright Association have already launched the rights-protection campaign
against those pirate VOD producers. It is said that the two companies SHINE
Multimedia Co. Ltd and Thunderstone Technology Ltd. are both on the list of
Top Ten domestic VOD Producers and the latter has branches in more than ten
cities in China. The SHINE Multimedia Co. Ltd has more than 20 branches and
offices and more than 2,000 KTV users. The company has entered the American
capital market through wholly-owned subsidiary of K's Media.
About the China Audio-Video Copyright Association(CAVCA) and the
Karaoke Copyright Operation Center
The China Audio & Video Copyright Association is the only association
of its kind approved by the State Copyright Administration. The association
manages collectively the copyrights of video & audio works and other
related rights according to law.
The rights managed by the association covering the right of
performance, right of broadcasting, right of leasing, right of Internet
broadcasting, right of duplication and distribution and also copyrights of
video & audio works fit for collective management.
The association mainly engages in the registration and management of
members and music & TV works, collecting copyright fees from users
according to laws and giving out licenses, allocating copyright fees to
rights owners based on the usage of their works, making legal
representations on illegal use of music & TV works, publicity on collective
management of copyrights, being responsible for fee collection with the
authorization of State Copyright Administration, and managing and
exercising the copyrights of overseas music & TV works on the mainland of
China on behalf of foreign counterparts after signing relevant agreements.
The Karaoke Copyright Operation Center is the executive agency of China
Audio & Video Copyright Association. The center is the only agency
authorized by China Music Copyright Association to collect copyright fees
from Karaoke Lounges and is responsible for detailed work related to the
Karaoke industry, such as the production and release of music pools, rights
protection, publicity, licensing, inspection, fee collection and
negotiations.
For more information, please contact:
Karaoke Copyright Operation Center
China Audio & Video Copyright Association
Department of Public Affairs
Contact: Niu Yan
Tel: +86-10-8289-8600
Fax: +86-10-8289-8610
Email: chanelclever@163.com
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