Research On The Collective Licensing System Of Music Copyright In China

Music copyright collective licensing regime responds to the expansion of music copyright system due to the development of communication technology. Music copyright collective management organizations in Europe America and other developed countries provide effective protection of music copyright owners'rights, securing lucrative return for them which become a strong economic incentive for music writers to maintain creativity. With the Music Copyright Society of China founded in 1992, music copyright collective licensing regime in China has been being gradually established. But it's far from perfect compared to mature copyright collective licensing system in terms of law enforcement and legislation. According to China's present situation and drawing on the experience in foreign countries, this paper tries to find solutions to problems existing in today's music copyright collective licensing regime in China.The paper is divided into four parts. The first part points out the necessity of building the music copyright collective licensing regime by defining concepts related to it. It clarifies that music copyright collective licensing regime encompasses both voluntary and non voluntary licensing. The second part is the analysis of problems plaguing China's music copyright collective licensing regime nowadays. The strength of Chinese music copyright collective management organizations can not match the legal status of their monopoly position. The operation has many problems:lack of members, low efficiency, charging fees for non-members without legal basis. Rigid voluntary collective licensing mode and cost standards can not reflect the market demand. Non voluntary licensing failed to limit monopolism of collective management organizations. It can't effectively protect the interests of copyright owners. The third part provides solutions to the problems. Following the principles of both safeguarding the interests of copyright owners and reducing licensing transaction cost, it puts forward three suggestions:Firstly, adjust administrative licensing of the establishment of music copyright collective management organization and establish appropriate extended collective licensing for non members. Secondly, respect the autonomy between copyright owners and users, provides more licensing modes for both sides and introduce royalties negotiation mechanism to ensure that the price is in line with market demand. Finally, add compulsory licensing to the non voluntary licensing system, strengthen negotiation between copyright owners and users. The fourth part is the summary.