Chinese Video Companies Oppose Film Copyright Society
Sohu IT, 5/13/10
Several Chinese companies dealing with film rights for internet cafes have sent statements to internet café owners opposing the Film Copyright Society of China's announcement that it will collect copyright fees from internet cafes and long-distance coaches.
Guangdong Zoke Culture Development, a Guangdong-based company specializing in internet café rights for films, said in a statement to internet café owners that its VeeGoo video server product provides not just technology, but more importantly provides legally licensed film and television programming for internet cafes. Zoke said that it will bear responsibility for all video content on the VeeGoo platform for the duration of internet cafes' contracts, and will take responsibility in any copyright disputes.
Shanghai Kuanyu Digital Technology, the operator of video platform 365pub.com, video content provider Vale, and other companies issued statements saying that they provided authorized content to internet cafes, rather than just technical support.
One employee of an internet café content provider who asked to remain anonymous said that there was little chance that the measures that the Film Copyright Society has discussed will be implemented in the short term, but that the announcement has had a major effect on the entire internet café industry. The employee said that the Film Copyright Society's claim to own the rights for all domestic films was "impossible," as rights may be purchased for ownership by other entities; a company which has purchased the rights to a film would have no reason to pay fees to the Film Copyright Society, which would be - the employee said - unreasonable and illegal.
Xu Leilei, CEO of Shanda Interactive's (Nasdaq: SNDA) video licensing subsidiary Sunshine Media, said that the biggest problem with the "Domestic Movie Internet Café Digital Distribution Platform" that the Film Copyright Society is promoting is that it is not authorized by copyright holders. Xu said the rights retained by the creators of film works dictate that any organization must receive legal authorization before it can develop any services involving the works; without authorization, these organizations are legally unable to charge for the works. Because of this, the "Domestic Movie Internet Café Digital Distribution Platform" is unlikely to be able to charge licensing fees in the short term.
Editor's Note: For more background on this topic, please see "New China Film Copyright Society to Collect Royalties" MD 4/20/10 issue.
Keywords: online video 365Pub Internet copyright Zoke Vale Sunshine Media Film Copyright Society of China Xu Leilei royalty Internet cafe
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