A lack of clear-cut official policies on copyrights for music and lyrics might heavily affect a favorite Taiwanese pastime — singing with karaoke machines on long-distance bus rides — as companies are mulling pressing for copyright violation charges against the National Joint Association of Buses for Tourists.
Hungyin Co, on behalf of its parent company, Juiying Co, recently filed a letter of attestation saying that the association allegedly infringed on copyrights, calling for the removal of karaoke machines from buses or a contract with Hungyin to rent its machines.
Juiying has invested NT$1 billion (US$33.4 million) per year buying copyrights or music videos and lyrics since 2006, the company said.
Though the association obtained rights to play copyrighted music in public areas from the Music Copyright Intermediary Society of Taiwan (TMCS), Music Copyright Association of Taiwan (MCAT) and the Music Copyright Society of Chinese Taipei (MUST), it is nonetheless obligated to pay additional funds for copyrighted songs in Hungyin’s machines, the company said.
The three copyright organizations are in charge of setting rates for public performances of tens of thousands of copyrighted songs, with prices ranging from NT$700 to NT$4,000 per year.
Failure to pay Hungyin might be a violation of Article 91 of the Copyright Act (著作權法), which prohibits illegal reproduction for distribution purposes, a lawyer representing Hungyin said.
Hungyin was not ruling out inspecting all of the karaoke machines being used by the association’s buses, adding that it would press charges to maintain its client’s rights if any illegalities are found.
The association said that the karaoke machines on its buses were provided by vehicle traders as an outright sale, adding that the copyrights for the songs in the machines should have been settled by the vehicle traders.
The association said that it has paid TMCS, MCAT and MUST for many years and had no problems, adding it was perplexed at the chaotic copyright laws.
People using the machines are only concerned whether they have the most up-to-date songs, and while it seeks to provide them with such devices, this instance shows that the association is in danger of having to pay additional funds should another company with copyrights claim that the machines have their music, the association said.
The association is currently negotiating with Hungyin.
The association can remove the machines, remove the songs infringing on copyrights or rent machines, Hungyin said.
The association said it was leaning toward removing the songs, which would mean that people traveling on its buses might not be able to find the newest songs in the future.
Meanwhile, the Intellectual Property Office said companies setting up karaoke machines should ensure they have obtained both the public performance rights and the public display rights from the music videos’ original owners.
Songs duplicated on the machines should also have copyright permissions or would be in violation of Article 9, it added.
While reproduction and public performance rights are regulated by the Copyright Act, they can belong to more than one group, the office’s copyright division director Chang Yu-ying (張玉嬰) said.
The only way to deal with the situation is to make sure only copyright holders duplicate songs, Chang said.
Current copyright use concerning karaoke machines is convoluted and easily overlaps with other regulations, she added.
TMCS, MCAT and MUST handle public performance fees, but record companies also authorize karaoke machine manufacturers to duplicate songs on their machines, Chang said, adding that copyright disputes can arise when songs not authorized to be copied are found in machines.
Because of karaoke’s popularity in Taiwan, there is an assortments of different machines on the market, with some companies sinking money into copyright purchases for music videos and lyrics and making their own machines to get a larger market share, she said.
Machines used in places other than on buses, such as food stalls or in community centers, usually have illegal content and might cause people to unknowingly violate the law, Chang said.
Chang called on people to make sure they had copyrights in order when purchasing or using karaoke machines, as well as finding legal means to reproduce songs, to avoid legal tussles.
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