Copyright policy for Expo songs clarified

• Source: Global Times
• [10:17 April 28 2010]
• Comments

By Chen Xiaoru

The World Expo authorities and the Music Copyright Society of China explained in an interview with the Global Times Tuesday that hosts outside the Expo park must apply before playing Expo related songs in commercial areas.

According to the Intellectual Property Service Center for Participants of Expo 2010, hosts outside the park must get special permits from the Expo authorities allowing them to play songs in hotels, restaurants, or for public commercial performances.

However, hosts outside the designated area do not need to pay copyright fees as long as they apply.

"We are not authorized to collect music copyright fees from outside the Expo site. We are simply in charge of gathering the fees inside the park," said Liu, director of the legal consulting department of the Music Copyright Society of China, correcting a mistaken report previously made by a local media outlet Tuesday saying that the society will collect the fees from outside the park.

Liu told the Global Times that the society was once responsible for collecting copyright fees from both inside and outside of the Olympic Park for the Beijing Olympic songs but that the Expo songs are relatively small in number. Liu added that the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination would directly manage copyright affairs outside the park.

According to the Xinhua News Agency, there were 72 Olympic songs with official copyrights during the Beijing Olympics, and only 33 Expo songs were published on the Expo website as of Tuesday.

The first round of selection for the Expo related songs began in December 2004. Several of the Expo songs have become popular, including "City" by Jackie Chan and "Smile, Shanghai" by various artists and celebrities.

Some companies outside the park in Shanghai have already used the Expo songs without applying to the Expo authorities.

Two karaoke companies, Upark and CashBoxParty, have put several Expo songs on their playlists. And the infamous "2010 Is Waiting For You" is included at Upark.

The PR manager of the Shanghai branch of the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts told the Global Times that the hotel is not sure about how to go about getting the permits in order to play the songs.

Liu told the Global Times that more than 84 percent of their income from each performance inside the park will go to the songs' composers and artists. The highest charge for a performance in the park can reach 12,000 yuan ($1,758), according to Wenhui Daily.