New China Film Copyright Society to Collect Royalties
Southern Metropolitan News, 4/20/10
On April 16, the Film Copyright Society of China announced its establishment in Beijing, and said it would immediately begin collecting royalties from internet cafes and long distance coach operators on behalf of all Chinese movie copyright holders, via its "Domestic Movie Internet Café Digital Distribution Platform."
The Film Copyright Society of China (Zhongguo Dianying Zhuzuoquan Xiehui) was born out of the China Film Copyright Protection Association, which was originally established on August 29, 2005, and has now transformed into a collective regulatory body - the fifth of its kind after the Music Copyright Society of China, China Audio-Video Copyright Association, China Written Works Copyright Society, and Images Copyright Society of China.
After an upcoming announcement by the National Copyright Administration (NCAC), the Society will have the authority to issue permits and collect and disperse royalties for use of film works, and will uphold the rights of film copyright holders.
The Society's "Domestic Movie Internet Café Digital Distribution Platform" was introduced after two years of development by Beijing Zhonglu Wangshang, a company which, according to its press releases, is a joint venture of Netmovie, an online video content provider that primarily serves internet cafes. Xu Gang, Zhonglu Wangshang's general manager, said that by installing the platform, internet cafes are effectively paying usage royalties for all domestic movies produced since the founding of the P.R.C., as well as royalties for all new Chinese movies released during their service period.
Editor's Note: Yao Min, deputy director of the Film Copyright Society's operations department, revealed that following consultation with the Beijing Internet Café Association, the Society has set its royalty rate for Beijing's internet cafes at RMB 0.15 per computer per day. Yao said that the Society had also set rates for use of copyrighted films on long-distance coaches throughout more than 20 cities nationwide, which are tentatively set at RMB 365 per bus per year. The Society is also considering collecting royalties from video-on-demand services offered at hotels.
Regarding questions of how the Society will distribute collected royalties, Yao said that the Society will take 10% of royalties as a management fee, and will distribute the rest to respective copyright holders. Yao said that its fee schedule has been submitted to the NCAC for approval, and that the policy is expected to be published online by the end of this month.
In other reports, netizens cast doubt on the authoritativeness of the Society and its "Digital Distribution Platform," while others noted that no records or information about Zhonglu Wangshang could be found online.
Keywords: Film Copyright Society of China film Internet royalty Netmovie online video copyright National Copyright Administration content provider Internet cafe
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