Monday, November 30, 2009

How Much Does A Copyright Holder Get When His Content is Broadcast in China?

IP Dragon's friend Rogier Creemer, of Maastricht University, who is doing field research for his his PhD thesis about copyright, piracy and media control, points us to the provisional radio and tv broadcasting recording remuneration payment rules that will be effective January 1, 2010. Thank you Rogier.

Provisional Radio and Television Station Broadcasting Audio Recording Remuneration Payment Rules

State Council of the People's Republic of China Decree
No. 566

The "Provisional Radio and Television Station Broadcasting Audio Recording Remuneration Payment Rules" were passed on 6 May 2009 at the 62nd State Council permanent committee meeting, and will take effect on 1 January 2010.

Premier: Wen Jiabao
10 November 2009

Provisional Radio and Television Station Broadcasting Audio Recording Remuneration Payment Rules

Article 1: In order to guarantee that copyright holders can exercise their broadcasting rights according to the law, convenience radio and television stations to broadcast audio recordings, according to the provisions of Article 43 of the "Copyright Law of the People's Republic of China" (hereafter simply named Copyright Law", these Rules are formulated.

Article 2: Radio and television stations may according to relevant matters such as the method and number, etc. of broadcasting already published music works, pay remuneration to the copyright holder and conduct agreements with collective copyright management organizations managing the corresponding rights.
Radio and television stations broadcasting already published audio recordings, and already having concluded a contract permitting use with the copyright holder, pay remunerations according to the methods and standards agreed in the contract.
Radio and television stations that, according to the provisions of Article 43 of the Copyright Law, broadcast already published audio recordings (hereafter named broadcast of audio recordings) without authorization from the copyright holder, pay remuneration to the copyright holder according to these Rules.

Article 3: Broadcast as named in these Rules, refers to radio and television stations engaging in first broadcast, re-broadcast and relay broadcast with wireless or cable means.

Article 4: Radio and television stations broadcasting audio recordings, may agree with the collective copyright management organization managing the corresponding rights upon an annual fixed amount of remuneration to the copyright holder; where an agreement on a fixed amount is not concluded or where an agreement cannot be concluded, radio and television stations and the collective copyright management organizations managing the corresponding rights may use one of the following methods as a basis, and discuss remuneration payment to the copyright holder:
(1) Calculating remuneration payment value on the basis of the remaining sum of the annual advertising revenue of that station or the channels of that stations, after deduction of 15% expenses, multiplied with the remuneration standards provided in Article 5 or Article 6 of these Rules;
(2) Calculating remuneration payment value on the basis of the total time of annual broadcast of audio recordings by that station, multiplied with the remuneration payment standards provided in Article 7 of these Rules.

Article 5: Where the method provided in Article 4, Item (1) of these Rules determines the amount of remuneration payment to copyright holders, within 5 years of these Rules taking effect, the remuneration payment amount will be discussed according to the following remuneration standards:
(1) where the time proportion of broadcast of audio recordings occupies less than 1% of the total broadcast time of that station or that channel (hereafter named broadcast time proportion), the remuneration standard is 0,01%;
(2) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 1% and less than 3%, the remuneration standard is 0,02%;
(3) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 3% and less than 6%, the corresponding remuneration standard is 0,09% to 0,15%, for every 1% added to the broadcast time proportion, a extra 0,03% is added to the remuneration standard;
(4) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 6% and less than 10%, the corresponding remuneration standard is 0,24% to 0,4%, for every 1% added to the broadcast time proportion, a extra 0,04% is added to the remuneration standard;
(5) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 10% and less than 30%, the remuneration standard is 0,5%;
(6) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 30% and less than 50%, the remuneration standard is 0,6%;
(7) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 50% and less than 80%, the remuneration standard is 0,7%;
(8) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 80%, the remuneration standard is 0,8%.

Article 6: Where the method provided in Article 4, Item (1) of these Rules determines the amount of remuneration payment to copyright holders, after 5 years of these Rules taking effect, the remuneration payment amount will be discussed according to the following remuneration standards:
(1) where the time proportion of broadcast of audio recordings occupies less than 1% of the total broadcast time of that station or that channel (hereafter named broadcast time proportion), the remuneration standard is 0,02%;
(2) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 1% and less than 3%, the remuneration standard is 0,03%;
(3) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 3% and less than 6%, the corresponding remuneration standard is 0,12% to 0,2%, for every 1% added to the broadcast time proportion, a extra 0,04% is added to the remuneration standard;
(4) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 6% and less than 10%, the corresponding remuneration standard is 0,3% to 0,5%, for every 1% added to the broadcast time proportion, a extra 0,05% is added to the remuneration standard;
(5) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 10% and less than 30%, the remuneration standard is 0,6%;
(6) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 30% and less than 50%, the remuneration standard is 0,7%;
(7) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 50% and less than 80%, the remuneration standard is 0,8%;
(8) where the broadcast time proportion is more than 80%, the remuneration standard is 0,9%.

Article 6: Where the method provided in Article 4, Item (2) of these Rules determines the amount of remuneration payment to copyright holders, the remuneration payment amount will be discussed according to the following remuneration standards:
(1) The radio stations' unit time remuneration standard is 0,30 Yuan per minute;
(2) The television stations' unit time remuneration standard is 1,50 Yuan per minute within 5 years of these Rules taking effect, and 2 Yuan per minute after 5 years of these Rules taking effect.

Article 8: Radio and televisions stations broadcasting audio recordings, that cannot conclude on a fixed remuneration payment amount with the collective copyright management organizations managing the corresponding rights, and that cannot discuss the determination of remuneration payment, shall according to the method provided in Article 4, Item (1) of these Rules and the standards provided in Article 5 and Article 6, determine the amount of remuneration payment to the collective copyright management organizations managing the corresponding rights.

Article 9: Of radio and television stations relaying other radio and television stations' broadcast of audio recordings, the time of broadcasting of audio recordings shall be calculated as 10% of the actual broadcast time.

Article 10: The amount of remuneration payment to copyright holders according to the provisions of these Rules of central regions' radio and television stations, within 5 years of these Rules taking effect, will be calculated at 50% of the amount calculated according to the provisions of these rules.
The amount of remuneration payment to copyright holders according to the provisions of these Rules of western regions' radio and television stations and national specialised channels broadcasting to children, ethnic minorities, rural regions, etc, within 5 years of these Rules taking effect, will be calculated at 10% of the amount calculated according to the provisions of these rules, and after 5 years of these Rules taking effect, will be calculated at 50% of the amount calculated according to the provisions of these rules.

Article 11: County-level and higher People's Government financial entities make remuneration payment to copyright holders for broadcasting audio recordings by radio and television stations established by that level's People's Government a factor in appraising its revenues and expenditures, and on the basis of consideration of the general financial situation of that locality, conduct overall planning.

Article 12: Radio and television stations remuneration payment accounting to copyright holders, shall be conducted on an annual basis.
Radio and television stations shall hand over the due remuneration payment of the previous year to the collective copyright management organisation for transfer to the copyright holder in the first quarter of every year.
Radio and television stations, when paying remuneration to a copyright holder through a collective copyright management organisation, shall furnish details such as the name of the broadcasted work, personal or organization name of the copyright holder, the broadcast time, etc., except where both parties have agreed otherwise.

Article 13: Radio and television stations broadcasting audio recordings, not having paid remuneration to copyright holders other than members of the collective copyright management organisation managing the corresponding rights, shall according to the provisions of Article 12 of these Rules, hand over the due remuneration to the collective copyright management organisation managing the corresponding rights; the collective copyright management organisation managing the corresponding rights shall transfer the payment to the copyright holder.

Article 14: For collective copyright management organizations transferring payment to copyright holders, except where these Rules have provisions, the relevant provisions of the "Collective Copyright Management Regulations" apply.

Article 15: Radio and television stations, after handing over the due remuneration for copyright holders to collective copyright management organisations according to the provisions of these Rules, do not assume responsibility for disputes between the collective copyright management organisation and copyright holders.

 

Article 16: Where disputes arise between radio and television stations an copyright holders or collective copyright management organisations because of remuneration payment according to the provisions of these Rules, they may file a case with the People's Courts, or on the basis of a written arbitration agreement reached by both parties apply for arbitration with the arbitration organs.

Article 17: These Rules take effect on 1 January 2010.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

FEVS: "Mainland China Principal Counterfeiter Wine"

Dominique Schroeder has a good article about counterfeit wine for Agence France-Presse published in the South China Morning Post today.

"The mainland is "the principal counterfeiter", according to Renaud Gaillard, deputy director of the French export trade body, Federation des Exportateurs de Vins et Spriritueux de France (FEVS)."

However, Schroeder points out that unlike luxury goods groups such as LVMH, most vintners do not have the financial resources to fight fake goods. The ones who can pay lawsuits, which cost easily 500,000 euro, they do not want any publicity, because people might associate their products with counterfeit products.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Push Up the Plagiarism: It's a Photo, No ... It's a Painting

Joel Martinsen of the great site about Chinese media, advertising, urban life and many more fascinating subjects, Danwei.org, has a great blog about 'Painted plagiarism of push-up photograph' read here.

Monday, November 09, 2009

R&D in China: No Genuine Research, Only Development Thanks to Poor Execution IPR Laws

New Europe reports about EU firms' enthusiasm about China's market prospects and their concern about the execution of the IPR laws in China.

"
“China’s intellectual property laws are not bad. The problem is their implementation,” [EU’s Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) President Joerg] Wuttke said. One result of the poor execution of IPR laws is that companies don’t conduct “genuine” research and development in China, he said. “Companies build R&D centers, but the focus is on development, not really on research,” Wuttke said. “For the research part, companies are more willing to transfer Chinese scientists elsewhere to guarantee IPR protection.” "

Read the New Europe article here.

Promotion and Protection of China's Culture: Hard Copyright For Soft Power

In The Economist special report on China and the US called 'Overkill' where the author James Miles postulates the opinion that China is piling up more weapons than it appears to need, Mr Miles also writes about the need for China to develop its soft power:

"Soft power was mentioned for the first time by a Chinese leader in public in 2007. Culture, said Mr Hu [Jintao, China's president IP Dragon] (oblivious, it seemed, of the cold-war overtones of his remarks), was of growing significance in the “competition in overall national strength”. China should therefore “enhance culture as part of the soft power of our country”."

Read The Economist article here. Copyright can protect cultural manifestations, so makes copyright crucial to develop China's soft power.

US-China Green Technology Transfer Strained By Circular Reasoning

Last month (October 22nd 2009) The Economist had a special report about the relationship between China and the US. In the article 'The price of cleanliness' the circular reasoning is pointed out that makes solving the environmental challenge in China very difficult:

"Technology transfer will also be a thorny issue. China resents the idea of American clean-energy companies taking advantage of China’s predicament to profit from their expertise. But American companies will not be keen to hand over advanced technologies without adequate protection for their intellectual-property rights. China’s lack of attention to this area is bitterly resented by many American businesses, not just high-tech ones."

Read James Miles' article for The Economist article here.
In other words: China lacks trust that US will transfer their patented green technology; US lacks trust China is protecting US green IPRs; etc.; etc. Wood absorbs water; water rusts metal; metal breaks up earth; earth smothers fire; fire burns wood; etc.; etc.

UPDATE:
China also wants Japan to transfer its patented green technology. Kyodo News International reports via iStockAnalyst, read here: "[Chinese Vice Premier] Li [Keqiang] requested that Japan accelerate the transfer and promotion of environment-related technology to China, while promising that China will ensure that the intellectual property rights of Japanese companies are protected. Japan and China are scheduled to hold a first working-level meeting on intellectual property rights in Tokyo on Nov. 19."

Friday, November 06, 2009

iSuppli: China's Grey Mobile Phone Market Explodes

In China there is a vast amount of grey cell phones, which are phones manufactured in China that are not recognised or licensed by government regulators. Grey market shipments are set to be 145 million units. Read market research firm iSuppli's article about it here.

The rise of the small scale handset makers that provide the grey cell phones was helped by the providers of chips such as Mediatek from Taiwan, which also offer turnkey software products.

Sino-Korean Dispute About Dragon Boat Festival

A bit late, but too interesting to let it pass unnoticed, here is the article by Dr. Zhang Quanyi about South Korea and China who both applied at the UNESCO to put the same dragon boat festival on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritages; Dano versus Duanwu, see here. Who is going to win the ... eh race.

On the list are already the following intangible cultural heritages:

In 2001 'Kun Qu Opera' ;
in 2003 the Guqin and its music;
in 2005 the Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang;
in 2005 the Urtii Duu - Traditional Folk Long Song.
See here.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

First Issue The WIPO Journal Includes Articles About IPR in China

The first issue of the brand new 'WIPO Journal: Analysis and Debate about Intellectual Property Issues' has just been published. I have not read the issue yet, but I am sure Professor Peter K. Yu, the general editor of the magazine includes China in his article. So do Handong Wu and Peter Drahos. And probably also Christoph Antons, and maybe the other authors too. Check it out for yourself:

The WIPO Journal First Issue

Foreword
Francis Gurry
Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation

The global intellectual property order and its undetermined future
Peter K Yu

The pre-history and establishment of the WIPO
Christopher May

International norm-making in the field of intellectual property: a shift towards maximum rules?
Annette Kur

Some consequences of misinterpreting the TRIPS Agreement
Susy Frankel

Seizure of generic pharmaceuticals in transit based on allegations of patent infringement: a threat to international trade, development and public welfare
Frederick M. Abbott

Threshold requirements for copyright protection under the International Conventions
Sam Ricketson

Rethinking of copyright institution for the digital age
Yoshiyuki Tamura

Internet piracy as a wake-up call for copyright law makers – is the “graduated response” the good reply??
Alain Strowel

The Lisbon Agreement’s misunderstood potential
Daniel Gervais

What is “traditional cultural expression”? – international definitions and their application in developing Asia
Christoph Antons

One hundred years of progress: the development of the intellectual property system in China
Handong Wu

The China-US relationship on climate change, intellectual property and CCS: requiem for a species?
Peter Drahos

Intellectual property and the transfer of green technologies: an essay on economic perspectives
Keith E Maskus

I wouldn't want to be starting from here, or why isn't intellectual property research better than it is?
Jeremy Phillips