Agreement reached over Expo music copyright

The 2010 Shanghai World Expo organizers yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with the head of the Chinese music copyright organization to protect the royalties of artists whose music is played on the Expo site.

The Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination will collect royalties on behalf of the Music Copyright Society of China from the Expo participants and businesses operating on the site if they play music. The society will then send the money to the copyright owners.

Under Chinese law, people must be authorized by the author or the copyright owner before they use their works.

The cooperation memo allows Expo participants and businesses on the site to use any music possessed by the society without prior approval of the copyright owners, said Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the World Expo 2010 Shanghai Executive Committee.

The society has more than 5,000 composers and artists on the Chinese mainland as members who hold copyright over more than 14 million pieces of music.

The society will negotiate with the copyright owner on behalf of those wanting to use a piece of music if it doesn't already have the rights, Zhou said.

This is the first time a World Expo organizer has signed a memorandum for the protection of intellectual property rights, he added.