China's newly
released draft amendment to the Copyright Law has aroused great controversy
among famous local songwriters as it allows sound recordings to be used by
others without the owner's permission.
According to the proposal, three months after a recording is released
it can be used by non-copyright owners as long as they apply with the State
Copyright Bureau, pay remuneration to the owners via the Music Copyright
Society of China, and clearly state the copyright owner.
The existing law claims "no such work may be used where the
copyright owner declares that use is not permitted".
"Dear musicians, we are done! Who will protect our rights? The
draft is really ridiculous," Li Guangping, a renowned songwriter, said on
his Sina micro blog.
"I know a lot of songwriters are not members of the copyright
society, so it doesn't have the rights to give any permission and receive money
for the copyright owners without being authorised," Li said.
Gao Xiaosong, a famous singer-songwriter, also blasted the draft.
"A new song may not be widely known within three months. Allowing
it be sung by others in such a short time is de facto encouragement of
piracy," Gao said.
"Songwriters will feel very hurt and be less motivated to write
songs. This will harm the singers, too," Gao wrote on his Sina micro blog,
claiming he would call for a boycott of the draft among musicians at next
month's Fengyun Music Awards ceremony, where he chairs the judging penal.
Qin Hua, a lawyer specialising in intellectual property from
Beijing-based Jiahe Law Firm, said copyright ownership is a private right and
authorities can't give permission to anyone to use it without the nod of the
owner.
The copyright society defended the proposal, saying the new version
will lead to better protection of musicians' interests.
"Some argue three months is too short but the current law has no
time limit at all. Those who want to re-record the songs can do so on the day
following its release," Liu Ping, head of the law department of the
copyright society, told China Daily yesterday.
Liu said copyright owners can claim that their works can't be used
without their permission according to the existing law, but it turns out to be
invalid.
Feng Xiaoqing, an intellectual property expert at the China University
of Political Science and Law, backed Liu.
"Previously, it was hard for the users of sound recordings to find
the copyright owners and pay them. The draft makes it much clearer and
easier," Feng told China Daily.
"If the new version is passed, the focus should be on whether the
copyright society can fully take advantage of the law and protect the interests
of the musicians."
Meanwhile, the drafters of the proposal said they've noticed the
comments and will stay open-minded to different opinions.
"We are collecting public opinions until April 30 and we will take
every suggestion seriously. It is still too early for us to make any
comment," said Xu Wei from the law department under the General
Administration of Press and Publication, which drafted the proposal.
"We are prepared for different opinions and that was the purpose
of the opinion-collecting process," Xu told China Daily.
The draft, which was released on March 31, also increased the
compensation standard for copyright infringement to 1 million yuan (US$158,000)
from the original 500,000-yuan limit.
Tang Yue
China Daily
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