Hundreds of karaoke clubs in Beijing have still not paid copyright fees since Beijing began charging karaoke venues copyright fees in 2007. Prosecutions against these clubs are likely to start this week.

China Audio-Video Copyright Association (CAVCA) announced recently they will take steps in Beijing to prosecute karaoke bars that have failed to pay up. There are 100 names on the first prosecution list. This will be the biggest KTV copyright case in China.

An official at CAVCA indicated that the association sent notifications to more than 300 karaoke venues at the end of September. The notification stated this was the last chance for KTV operators to pay fees, with a deadline of October 10, otherwise they would face prosecution.

As of October 12, only 30 operators had responded to the notification. Others have chosen to wait and see, but some have refused to pay.

Refuseniks who still make unauthorized use of audio and video will suffer legal sanction in a pilot experiment in Beijing, according to the official. The association has taken evidence and plans to prosecute hundreds of karaoke venues this week.

Names in the first prosecution list haven't yet been released by CAVCA as the relevant materials have not yet been submitted to court. Medium and small KTVs are the major targets now that large-scale clubs have mostly paid the charges, said the official.

An interview with some medium and small KTVs on thebeijingnews.com suggested that most of them claimed to be unaware of the notification, and individual KTV staff revealed they were choosing to wait and see, although payment would not add too much to operational costs.

According to the National Copyright Administration, China began charging karaoke venues copyright fees on January 1, 2007. The charge rate in Beijing is 11 yuan ($1.6) per day for each karaoke room. Compared to over 100 of 1400 Shanghai karaoke clubs who have paid copyright fees, only 10 of Beijing's 1500 KTVs have paid up.

(China.org.cn by Wu Huanshu, October 13, 2008)