Local karaoke bars are paying close attention to a court case
that opened in the city yesterday and could force many clubs to
close their doors in the near future.
The Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People's Court began hearing
Sony Music Entertainment (Hong Kong) Ltd's lawsuit against Cashbox
Karaoke Bar for screening musical video discs without
permission.
Sony Music is seeking 350,000 yuan (US$42,169) in compensation
and a public apology. It is also asking Cashbox to be banned from
screening the discs in public.
Sony Music said it discovered on March 7 last year that the
outlet of Cashbox Karaoke Bar in Fuxing Park was screening videos
of Hong Kong pop star Leon Lai.
Few, if any, local karaoke bars pay royalties to foreign music
companies to screen their video disks, meaning a ruling against
Cashbox could devastate the local industry.
Lawyers for Sony told the court the videos take a lot of time,
creativity and money to make, so they should be viewed as films and
their copyright should be protected.
The company wants local bars to pay the same royalties karaoke
clubs pay in Hong Kong, which is between HK$50,000 and HK$500,000
per song for unlimited use.
Since Leon Lai is one of Hong Kong's most famous pop stars, the
company is seeking 100,000 yuan for each video Cashbox played.
"The domestic recording industry has developed slowly in recent
years because their rights and interests aren't well protected,"
said Sony's attorney Guo Chunfei.
Cashbox argued that it pays licensing fees every year to the
Music Copyright of China, an association that acts on behalf of
composers and writers.
"If we must pay royalty fees as the Hong Kong standard requires,
the karaoke industry will disappear," said Mao Huigang, the
attorney for Cashbox.
Sony has precedent in its favor. Last year, courts in Beijing
ordered karaoke bars in the capital to pay compensation to music
companies for illegal use of their video disks.
"After winning those two cases, overseas music companies have
become more confident and will extend their copyright protection
action nationwide," said Guo.
The local branches of Sony Music, EMI Music and Universal Music
said they have never received any payment from the local karaoke
clubs for the public use of their disks, while similar bars in
other countries such as Japan and South Korea pay up to 50 percent
of their revenues to the studios.
"It is difficult for us to charge the Chinese karaoke clubs
since the market still lacks discipline," said Zhang Zhenyu with
Shanghai Epic Entertainment Co Ltd, a local subsidiary of Sony
Music.
(eastday.com February 17, 2004)