The end of the year is approaching, and the number of gatherings of family and friends is increasing.
Many people like to go to KTV to show off their singing voices.
The lights flickered, the applause thundered, and the music fluttered.
Have you ever thought that what you sang might be an infringing song?
Recently, the Xinfu District Court heard such a case......
[Brief facts of the case].
A **share*** signed the "Audio-visual Copyright Authorization Contract" with the CAVCA to authorize the CAVCA to manage the screening rights and reproduction rights of the audio-visual programs it owns (only for karaoke business premises). On December 16, 2021, the Audiophilic Association assigned investigators to a singing bar in Hequ County to collect consumption evidence, which used the "Magic Cloud" song ordering system, and 13 **TV works such as "Mortal Song" on demand were included in the "Popular Song Classics (Second Edition)" with the copyright of the **shares***. It was also ascertained that the manufacturer and distributor of the song-ordering equipment and song-ordering system involved in the case had obtained the right to use the audio-music collection to manage all the works in the music library of its song-ordering system and song-ordering facilities through the authorization of the audio-music collection association.
[Court Decision].
The ** TV work involved in the case is a work created by a method similar to that of filming, and should be protected by the Copyright Law. A singing bar in Hequ County did not obtain the authorization of the copyright owner and the CAVCA and paid the license fee, and for the purpose of profit, the use of the 13 ** TV works involved in the case infringed the CAVCA's right to screen the ** TV works involved in the case in accordance with the law, and the infringement should be stopped and the infringement liability to compensate the CAVCA for economic losses in accordance with the law. The court ruled: 1. A singing bar in Hequ County compensated the Association for economic losses of 36,000 yuan and 68 yuan for rights protection expenses, totaling 36,068 yuan; 2. A singing bar in Hequ County stopped infringing and deleted all audio-visual works managed by the Music Collection Association in the music library.
[Judge's Message].
Manufacturers and operators of karaoke systems and on-demand equipment are authorized by CAVCA to obtain the right to use the works in the CAVC-managed music library within their song ordering systems and facilities. Karaoke operators who use song ordering equipment and works managed by the Music Association to provide commercial services to consumers still need to obtain authorization from the relevant rights holders, otherwise they will bear civil liability to stop the infringement and compensate for losses. Taking advantage of this case, the Xinfu District Court reminded karaoke operators to use ** TV works legally, protect the rights and interests of copyright owners and related rights holders, maintain a good karaoke market order, and promote the healthy development of the audio-visual products industry.
[Link to the law].
Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China
Article 8: Copyright holders and copyright-related rights holders may authorize collective copyright management organizations to exercise copyright or copyright-related rights. Legally established copyright collective management organizations are non-profit legal persons, and after being authorized, they may claim rights in their own name for copyright holders and copyright-related rights holders, and may conduct litigation, arbitration, and mediation activities involving copyright or copyright-related rights as parties.
Article 52: Where the following infringements are committed, civil liability such as stopping the infringement, eliminating the impact, making formal apologies, and compensating for losses shall be borne on the basis of the circumstances:
1) Publishing a work without the permission of the copyright owner;
2) Without the permission of the co-authors, publishing a work created in collaboration with others as a work created by oneself alone;
3) Signing the works of others without participating in the creation of works for the purpose of seeking personal fame and wealth;
4) Distorting or tampering with the works of others;
5) Plagiarizing the works of others;
6) Without the permission of the copyright owner, the work is used by means of exhibiting or filming audiovisual works, or the work is used by means such as adaptation, translation, or annotation, except as otherwise provided by this Law;
7) Failure to pay remuneration for the use of another person's work;
8) Renting out originals or reproductions of audiovisual works, computer software, or audio or video recordings without the permission of the copyright holders, performers, or producers of audiovisual works, computer software, or audio or video recordings, except as otherwise provided in this Law;
9) Without the permission of the publisher, using the layout design of the books or periodicals they publish;
10) Without the performer's permission, live streaming or publicly transmitting their live performance, or recording their performance;
11) Other acts of infringing on copyright and copyright-related rights.
Article 54: Where copyright or copyright-related rights are infringed, the infringer shall compensate the right holder in accordance with the actual losses suffered by the right holder or the infringer's unlawful gains; Where it is difficult to calculate the actual losses of the rights holder or the illegal gains of the infringer, compensation may be made with reference to the royalties of the rights. Where copyright or copyright-related rights are intentionally infringed, and the circumstances are serious, compensation may be given between 1 and 5 times the amount determined in accordance with the methods described above. Where it is difficult to calculate the actual losses of the rights holder, the illegal gains of the infringer, or the royalties of the rights, the people's court shall make a judgment to give compensation of not less than 500 yuan but not more than 5 million yuan based on the circumstances of the infringement. The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the right holder to stop the infringement. In order to determine the amount of compensation, the people's court may order the infringer to provide account books and materials related to the infringement if the right holder has fulfilled the necessary burden of proof, and the account books and materials related to the infringement are mainly in the possession of the infringer; Where the infringer does not provide it, or provides false account books or materials, the people's court may determine the amount of compensation by referring to the rights holder's claims and the evidence provided.
The people's court hearing a copyright dispute case shall, at the request of the right holder, order the destruction of the infringing copy, except in special circumstances; The materials, tools, equipment, etc., which are mainly used to manufacture infringing copies, shall be ordered to be destroyed without compensation; or under special circumstances, order that the aforementioned materials, tools, equipment, etc. enter commercial channels without compensation. (Correspondent: Zhao Tong).